Molecular monolayer-mediated control over semiconductor surfaces: evidence for molecular depolarization of silane monolayers on Si/SiO(x).

We show that, for molecules with particularly strong dipoles, their organization into a monomolecular layer can lead to depolarization, something that limits the range over which the substrate's work function can be changed. It appears that, with molecules, depolarization is achieved by changes in orientation and conformation, rather than by charge transfer to the substrate as is common for atomic layers.