First-principles approach to the electronic structure in the pentacene thin film polymorph

Pentacene Excitons in Strong Electric Fields

Electroluminescence spectroscopy of organic semiconductors in the junction of a scanning tunneling microscope (STM) provides access to the polarizability of neutral excited states in a well-characterized molecular geometry. We study the Stark shift of the self-trapped lowest singlet exciton at 1.6 eV in a pentacene nanocrystal. Combination of density functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent DFT (TDDFT) with experiment allows for assignment of the observation to a charge-transfer (CT) exciton. Its charge separation is perpendicular to the applied field, as the measured polarizability is moderate and the electric field in the STM junction is strong enough to dissociate a CT exciton polarized parallel to the applied field. The calculated electric-field-induced anisotropy of the exciton potential energy surface will also be of relevance to photovoltaic applications.

Distribution of localized states from fine analysis of electron spin resonance spectra in organic transistors

We developed a novel method for obtaining the distribution of trapped carriers over their degree of localization in organic transistors, based on the fine analysis of electron spin resonance spectra at low enough temperatures where all carriers are localized. To apply the method to pentacene thin-film transistors, we proved through continuous wave saturation experiments that all carriers are localized at below 50 K. We analyzed the spectra at 20 K and found that the major groups of traps comprise localized states having wave functions spanning around 1.5 and 5 molecules and a continuous distribution of states with spatial extent in the range between 6 and 20 molecules.