Shallow trap states in pentacene thin films from molecular sliding

Petacene is one of the most promising organic semiconductors for thin-film transistors. Transport measurements in the past have established the presence of shallow traps but their origins have remained a mystery. Here we show that shallow traps in vapor-deposited crystalline pentacene thin films are due to local defects resulting from the sliding of pentacene molecules along their long molecular axis, while two-dimensional crystalline packing is maintained. Electronic structural calculation confirms that these sliding defects are shallow-charge traps with energies ⩽100meV above (below) the valence band maximum (conduction band minimum).