Tetracene

Tetracene, also called naphthacene, is a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon. It has the appearance of a pale orange powder. Tetracene is the four-ringed member of the series of acenes, the previous one being anthracene (tricene) and the next one being pentacene.

Tetracene is a molecular organic semiconductor, used in organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) and organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs). In May 2007, researchers from two Japanese universities, Tohoku University in Sendai, and Osaka University, have reported an ambipolar light-emitting transistor made of a single tetracene crystal. Ambipolar means that the electric charge is transported by both, positively charged holes and negatively charged electrons. Tetracene can be also used as a gain medium in dye lasers as a sensitiser in chemoluminescence.

Jan Hendrik Schön during his time at Bell Labs (1997-2002) claimed to have developed an electrically pumped laser based on tetracene. However, his results could not be reproduced and it is considered scientific fraud.