An investigation into the formation of silane-based self-assembled monolayers and the density of defects in these SAMs

Silane-based self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) are commonly used as protective coatings against chemical etchants and adhesion of biomolecules. The conventional methods of producing SAMs are very time consuming and energy intensive processes. This thesis presents an efficient technique to produce silane-based SAMs approximately 300 times faster while consuming over 750 times less energy than the conventional method. Silane-based SAMs produce monolayers containing various types of defects. New techniques are developed to identify defects in SAMs and to correct for them. Chemical amplification of defects is developed for easily detecting defects in SAMs by traditional microscopy and spectroscopy techniques. Extraction and refilling methods are used to increase the packing density of the molecules in these monolayers and reduce the number of defects present in SAMs. By increasing the efficiency of silane deposition and improving the packing density of molecules, high quality SAMs can be produced within a short period of time.