No Arabic abstract
We present a high-resolution resonance Raman study of hBN encapsulated MoSe$_2$ and WSe$_2$ monolayers at 4 K using excitation energies from 1.6 eV to 2.25 eV. We report resonances with the WSe$_2$ A2s and MoSe$_2$ A2s and B2s excited Rydberg states despite their low oscillator strength. When resonant with the 2s states we identify new Raman peaks which are associated with intravalley scattering between different Rydberg states via optical phonons. By calibrating the Raman scattering efficiency and separately constraining the electric dipole matrix elements, we reveal that the scattering rates for k=0 optical phonons are comparable for both 1s and 2s states despite differences in the envelope functions. We also observe multiple new dispersive Raman peaks including a peak at the WSe$_2$ A2s resonance that demonstrates non-linear dispersion and peak-splitting behavior that suggests that the dispersion relations for dark excitonic states at energies near the 2s state are extremely complex.
The creation of moire patterns in crystalline solids is a powerful approach to manipulate their electronic properties, which are fundamentally influenced by periodic potential landscapes. In 2D materials, a moire pattern with a superlattice potential can form by vertically stacking two layered materials with a twist and/or finite lattice constant difference. This unique approach has led to emergent electronic phenomena, including the fractal quantum Hall effect, tunable Mott insulators, and unconventional superconductivity. Furthermore, theory predicts intriguing effects on optical excitations by a moire potential in 2D valley semiconductors, but these signatures have yet to be experimentally detected. Here, we report experimental evidence of interlayer valley excitons trapped in a moire potential in MoSe$_2$/WSe$_2$ heterobilayers. At low temperatures, we observe photoluminescence near the free interlayer exciton energy but with over 100 times narrower linewidths. The emitter g-factors are homogeneous across the same sample and only take two values, -15.9 and 6.7, in samples with twisting angles near 60{deg} and 0deg, respectively. The g-factors match those of the free interlayer exciton, which is determined by one of two possible valley pairing configurations. At a twist angle near 20deg, the emitters become two orders of magnitude dimmer, but remarkably, they possess the same g-factor as the heterobilayer near 60deg. This is consistent with the Umklapp recombination of interlayer excitons near the commensurate 21.8{deg} twist angle. The emitters exhibit strong circular polarization, which implies the preservation of three-fold rotation symmetry by the trapping potential. Together with the power and excitation energy dependence, all evidence points to their origin as interlayer excitons trapped in a smooth moire potential with inherited valley-contrasting physics.
Based on emph{ab initio} theoretical calculations of the optical spectra of vertical heterostructures of MoSe$_2$ (or MoS$_2$) and WSe$_2$ sheets, we reveal two spin-orbit-split Rydberg series of excitonic states below the textsl{A} excitons of MoSe$_2$ and WSe$_2$ with a significant binding energy on the order of 250,meV for the first excitons in the series. At the same time, we predict crystalographically aligned MoSe$_2$/WSe$_2$ heterostructures to exhibit an indirect fundamental band gap. Due to the type-II nature of the MoSe$_2$/WSe$_2$ heterostructure, the indirect transition and the exciton Rydberg series corresponding to a direct transition exhibit a distinct interlayer nature with spatial charge separation of the coupled electrons and holes. The experimentally observed long-lived states in photoluminescence spectra of MoX$_2$/WY$_2$ heterostructure are attributed to such interlayer exciton states. Our calculations further suggest an effect of stacking order on the peak energy of the interlayer excitons and their oscillation strengths.
Hybridisation of electronic bands of two-dimensional materials, assembled into twistronic heterostructures, enables one to tune their optoelectronic properties by selecting conditions for resonant interlayer hybridisation. Resonant interlayer hybridisation qualitatively modifies the excitons in such heterostructures, transforming these optically active modes into superposition states of interlayer and intralayer excitons. For MoSe$_2$/WSe$_2$ heterostructures, strong hybridization occurs between the holes in the spin-split valence band of WSe$_2$ and in the top valence band of MoSe$_2$, especially when both are bound to the same electron in the lowest conduction band of WSe$_2$. Here we use resonance Raman scattering to provide direct evidence for the hybridisation of excitons in twistronic MoSe$_2$/WSe$_2$ structures, by observing scattering of specific excitons by phonons in both WSe$_2$ and MoSe$_2$. We also demonstrate that resonance Raman scattering spectroscopy opens up a wide range of possibilities for quantifying the layer composition of the superposition states of the exciton and the interlayer hybridisation parameters in heterostructures of two-dimensional materials.
Energy relaxation of photo-excited charge carriers is of significant fundamental interest and crucial for the performance of monolayer (1L) transition metal dichaclogenides (TMDs) in optoelectronics. We measure light scattering and emission in 1L-WSe$_2$ close to the laser excitation energy (down to~$sim$0.6meV). We detect a series of periodic maxima in the hot photoluminescence intensity, stemming from energy states higher than the A-exciton state, in addition to sharp, non-periodic Raman lines related to the phonon modes. We find a period $sim$15meV for peaks both below (Stokes) and above (anti-Stokes) the laser excitation energy. We detect 7 maxima from 78K to room temperature in the Stokes signal and 5 in the anti-Stokes, of increasing intensity with temperature. We assign these to phonon cascades, whereby carriers undergo phonon-induced transitions between real states in the free-carrier gap with a probability of radiative recombination at each step. We infer that intermediate states in the conduction band at the $Lambda$-valley of the Brillouin zone participate in the cascade process of 1L-WSe$_2$. The observations explain the primary stages of carrier relaxation, not accessible so far in time-resolved experiments. This is important for optoelectronic applications, such as photodetectors and lasers, because these determine the recovery rate and, as a consequence, the devices speed and efficiency.
Low-temperature photoluminescence (PL) of hBN-encapsulated monolayer tungsten diselenide (WSe$_2$) shows a multitude of sharp emission peaks below the bright exciton. Some of them have been recently identified as phonon sidebands of momentum-dark states. However, the exciton dynamics behind the emergence of these sidebands has not been revealed yet. In this joint theory-experiment study, we theoretically predict and experimentally observe time-resolved PL providing microscopic insights into thermalization of hot excitons formed after optical excitation. In good agreement between theory and experiment, we demonstrate a spectral red-shift of phonon sidebands on a timescale of tens of picoseconds reflecting the phonon-driven thermalization of hot excitons in momentum-dark states. Furthermore, we predict the emergence of a transient phonon sideband that vanishes in the stationary PL. The obtained microscopic insights are applicable to a broad class of 2D materials with multiple exciton valleys.