Fundamental optical recombination in pentacene clusters and ultrathin films

Photoluminescence spectra of pentacene clusters and films of few monolayers in thickness reveal two fundamental excitations that are assigned to the Davydov doublets of the lowest singlet exciton. While the energy splittings of the doublets have minor dependence on cluster thickness, their bandwidths become narrower as the pentacene clusters grow larger and into continuous ultrathin films. The marked similarity of these Davydov doublets to those in optical absorption spectra of thicker pentacene films and crystals suggests a similarity in molecular arrangements. Luminescence of self-trapped excitons is quenched in the few monolayer clusters and ultrathin films.