Phenomenological model for charge dynamics and optical response of disordered systems: Application to organic semiconductors

We provide a phenomenological formula that describes the low-frequency optical absorption of charge carriers in disordered systems with localization. This allows us to extract, from experimental data on the optical conductivity, the relevant microscopic parameters determining the transport properties, such as the carrier localization length and the elastic and inelastic scattering times. This general formula is tested and applied here to organic semiconductors, where dynamical molecular disorder is known to play a key role in the transport properties. The present treatment captures the basic ideas underlying the recently proposed transient localization scenario for charge transport, extending it from the dc mobility to the frequency domain. When applied to existing optical measurements in rubrene field-effect transistors, our analysis provides quantitative evidence for the transient localization phenomenon. Possible applications to other disordered electronic systems are briefly discussed.