No Arabic abstract
Inversion symmetric materials are forbidden to show an overall spin texture in their band structure in the presence of time-reversal symmetry. However, in van der Waals materials which lack inversion symmetry within a single layer, it has been proposed that a layer-dependent spin texture can arise leading to a coupled spin-layer degree of freedom. Here we use time-resolved Kerr rotation in inversion symmetric WSe$_{2}$ and MoSe$_{2}$ bulk crystals to study this spin-layer polarization and unveil its dynamics. Our measurements show that the spin-layer relaxation time in WSe$_2$ is limited by phonon-scattering at high temperatures and that the inter-layer hopping can be tunned by a small in-plane magnetic field at low temperatures, enhancing the relaxation rates. We find a significantly lower lifetime for MoSe$_{2}$ which agrees with theoretical expectations of a spin-layer polarization stabilized by the larger spin-orbit coupling in WSe$_2$.
Spin orbit coupling (SOC) is the key to realizing time-reversal invariant topological phases of matter. Famously, SOC was predicted by Kane and Mele to stabilize a quantum spin Hall insulator; however, the weak intrinsic SOC in monolayer graphene has precluded experimental observation. Here, we exploit a layer-selective proximity effect---achieved via van der Waals contact to a semiconducting transition metal dichalcogenide--to engineer Kane-Mele SOC in ultra-clean textit{bilayer} graphene. Using high-resolution capacitance measurements to probe the bulk electronic compressibility, we find that SOC leads to the formation of a distinct incompressible, gapped phase at charge neutrality. The experimental data agrees quantitatively with a simple theoretical model in which the new phase results from SOC-driven band inversion. In contrast to Kane-Mele SOC in monolayer graphene, the inverted phase is not expected to be a time reversal invariant topological insulator, despite being separated from conventional band insulators by electric field tuned phase transitions where crystal symmetry mandates that the bulk gap must close. Electrical transport measurements, conspicuously, reveal that the inverted phase has a conductivity $sim e^2/h$, which is suppressed by exceptionally small in-plane magnetic fields. The high conductivity and anomalous magnetoresistance are consistent with theoretical models that predict helical edge states within the inversted phase, that are protected from backscattering by an emergent spin symmetry that remains robust even for large Rashba SOC. Our results pave the way for proximity engineering of strong topological insulators as well as correlated quantum phases in the strong spin-orbit regime in graphene heterostructures.
Antiferromagnets display enormous potential in spintronics owing to its intrinsic nature, including terahertz resonance, multilevel states, and absence of stray fields. Combining with the layered nature, van der Waals (vdW) antiferromagnets hold the promise in providing new insights and new designs in two-dimensional (2D) spintronics. The zero net magnetic moments of vdW antiferromagnets strengthens the spin stability, however, impedes the correlation between spin and other excitation elements, like excitons. Such coupling is urgently anticipated for fundamental magneto-optical studies and potential opto-spintronic devices. Here, we report an ultra-sharp excitonic emission with excellent monochromaticity in antiferromagnetic nickel phosphorus trisulfides (NiPS3) from bulk to atomically thin flakes. We prove that the linear polarization of the excitonic luminescence is perpendicular to the ordered spin orientation in NiPS3. By applying an in-plane magnetic field to alter the spin orientation, we further manipulate the excitonic emission polarization. Such strong correlation between exciton and spins provides new insights for the study of magneto-optics in 2D materials, and hence opens a path for developing opto-spintronic devices and antiferromagnet-based quantum information technologies.
Exciton binding energies of hundreds of meV and strong light absorption in the optical frequency range make transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) promising for novel optoelectronic nanodevices. In particular, atomically thin TMDs can be stacked to heterostructures enabling the design of new materials with tailored properties. The strong Coulomb interaction gives rise to interlayer excitons, where electrons and holes are spatially separated in different layers. In this work, we reveal the microscopic processes behind the formation, thermalization and decay of these fundamentally interesting and technologically relevant interlayer excitonic states. In particular, we present for the exemplary MoSe$_2$-WSe$_2$ heterostructure the interlayer exciton binding energies and wave functions as well as their time- and energy-resolved dynamics. Finally, we predict the dominant contribution of interlayer excitons to the photoluminescence of these materials.
The van der Waals heterostructures are a fertile frontier for discovering emergent phenomena in condensed matter systems. They are constructed by stacking elements of a large library of two-dimensional materials, which couple together through van der Waals interactions. However, the number of possible combinations within this library is staggering, and fully exploring their potential is a daunting task. Here we introduce van der Waals metamaterials to rapidly prototype and screen their quantum counterparts. These layered metamaterials are designed to reshape the flow of ultrasound to mimic electron motion. In particular, we show how to construct analogues of all stacking configurations of bilayer and trilayer graphene through the use of interlayer membranes that emulate van der Waals interactions. By changing the membranes density and thickness, we reach coupling regimes far beyond that of conventional graphene. We anticipate that van der Waals metamaterials will explore, extend, and inform future electronic devices. Equally, they allow the transfer of useful electronic behavior to acoustic systems, such as flat bands in magic-angle twisted bilayer graphene, which may aid the development of super-resolution ultrasound imagers.
Control over the electronic spectrum at low energy is at the heart of the functioning of modern advanced electronics: high electron mobility transistors, semiconductor and Capasso terahertz lasers, and many others. Most of those devices rely on the meticulous engineering of the size quantization of electrons in quantum wells. This avenue, however, hasnt been explored in the case of 2D materials. Here we transfer this concept onto the van der Waals heterostructures which utilize few-layers films of InSe as quantum wells. The precise control over the energy of the subbands and their uniformity guarantees extremely high quality of the electronic transport in such systems. Using novel tunnelling and light emitting devices, for the first time we reveal the full subbands structure by studying resonance features in the tunnelling current, photoabsorption and light emission. In the future, these systems will allow development of elementary blocks for atomically thin infrared and THz light sources based on intersubband optical transitions in few-layer films of van der Waals materials.