Dynamic response and electronic structure of potassium-doped picene investigated by electron energy-loss spectroscopy

We performed electron energy-loss spectroscopy studies to get a deeper insight into the electronic properties of potassium intercalated picene, a recently discovered superconductor. A comparison of the loss function of the undoped and doped compound shows the appearance of a new peak in the optical gap, which we attribute to the charge carrier plasmon. We find a dramatic increase for the value of the background dielectric constant ε_∞ upon doping. Our core level excitation data clearly signal filling of the conduction bands with electrons upon potassium addition.