Exciton Dynamics, Laser Action, and Cooperative Emission in Conducting Polymer Thin Films

Picosecond dynamics of exciton emission and absorption have been studied in neat thin films of a variety of poly (phenylene-vinylene) derivatives. We found that the stimulated emission band of 120 nm width and ~ 1 ns duration, which is observed at low exciton density, n, collapses at n > 1017cm-3 into a much narrower band of 7 nm width and lifetime τ « 10 ps. Based on its excitation intensity dependence, polarization, lifetime, illuminated area, and film thickness dependencies, we assign this narrow band to superfluorescence rather than to amplified spontaneous emission.