On the mechanism of charge transport in pentacene

Terahertz transient conductivity measurements are performed on pentacene single crystals, which directly demonstrate a strong coupling of charge carriers to low frequency molecular motions with energies centered around 1.1 THz. We present evidence that the strong coupling to low frequency motions is the factor limiting the conductivity in these organic semiconductors. Our observations explain the apparent paradox of the “bandlike” temperature dependence of the conductivity beyond the validity limit of the band model.