Quantum Beats of a Multiexciton State in Rubrene Single Crystals

Abstract

We observe quantum beats in the nanosecond-scale photoluminescence decay of rubrene single crystals after photoexcitation with short laser pulses in a magnetic field of 0.1 to 0.3 T. The relative amplitude of the quantum beats is of the order of 5\%. Their frequency is $1.3$ GHz when the magnetic field is oriented parallel to the two-fold rotation axis of the rubrene molecules and decreases to $0.6$ GHz when the magnetic field is rotated to the crystal's molecular stacking direction. The amplitude of the quantum beats decays alongside the non-oscillatory photoluminescence background, which at low excitation densities has an exponential decay time of $ 4.0 \pm 0.2$~ns. We interpret this as the effective lifetime of a multiexciton state that originates from singlet-fission and can undergo geminate recombination back to the singlet state.