Mechanism of carrier photogeneration and carrier transport in molecular crystal tetracene

Models for the carrier photoexcitation mechanism in molecular crystals have been established initially on the bases of measurements on oligoacenes and later applied to conjugated polymers as well. These models emphasize the localized nature of photoexcitations and describe carrier generation as a secondary process involving exciton dissociation. The results of our photoconductivity studies of single crystal tetracene are at variance with these widely accepted models, and in fact indicate that the photocarrier quantum efficiency appears independent of temperature, photon energy, and light intensity, thus featuring the hallmarks of direct interband carrier photogeneration and coherent carrier transport at band states.