Density of bulk trap states in organic semiconductor crystals: Discrete levels induced by oxygen in rubrene

Abstract

The density of trap states in the band gap of semiconducting organic single crystals has been measured quantitatively and with high energy resolution by means of the experimental method of temperature-dependent space-charge-limited-current spectroscopy. This spectroscopy has been applied to study bulk rubrene single crystals, which are shown by this technique to be of high chemical and structural quality. A density of deep trap states as low as $\ensuremath{\sim}{10}^{15}\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}{\mathrm{cm}}^{\ensuremath{-}3}$ is measured in the purest crystals, and the exponentially varying shallow trap density near the band edge could be identified (one decade in the density of states per $\ensuremath{\sim}25\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{meV}$). Furthermore, we have induced and spectroscopically identified an oxygen-related sharp hole bulk trap state at $0.27\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{eV}$ above the valence band.