Valley polarization in transition metal dichalcogenide layered semiconductors:Generation,relaxation,manipulation and transport

In recent years,valleytronics researches based on 2D semiconducting transition metal dichalcogenides have attracted considerable attention.On the one hand,strong spin–orbit interaction allows the presence of spin–valley coupling in this system,which provides spin addressable valley degrees of freedom for information storage and processing.On the other hand,large exciton binding energy up to hundreds of me V enables excitons to be stable carriers of valley information.Valley polarization,marked by an imbalanced exciton population in two inequivalent valleys(+K and-K),is the core of valleytronics as it can be utilized to store binary information.Motivated by the potential applications,we present a thorough overview of the recent advancements in the generation,relaxation,manipulation,and transport of the valley polarization in nonmagnetic transition metal dichalcogenide layered semiconductors.We also discuss the development of valleytronic devices and future challenges in this field.

Thickness-dependent structural stability and transition in molybdenum disulfide under hydrostatic pressure

Understanding the physical mechanism of structural stability and transition in various polytypes of layered transition metal dichalcogenides under the external stimulus is of crucial importance for their new applications.Here,we investigate the thickness-dependent structural properties of MoS2 under the condition of hydrostatic pressure in terms of bond relaxation and thermodynamics considerations.For both types of MoS2 structures,we find that the transition and metallization are significantly modulated by hydrostatic pressure and the number of layers.We establish a pressure-size phase diagram to address the transition mechanism.Our study not only provides insights into the thickness-dependent structural properties of MoS2,but also shows a theoretical guidance for the design and fabrication of MoS2-based devices.

Versatile band structure and electron-phonon coupling in layered PtSe_(2) with strong interlayer interaction

The large tunability in the band structure is ubiquitous in two-dimensional(2D)materials,and PtSe_(2) is not an exception,which has attracted considerable attention in electronic and optoelectronic applications due to its high carrier mobility and long-term airstability.Such dimensional dependent properties are closely related to the evolution of electronic band structures.Critical points(CPs),the extrema or saddle points of electronic bands,are the cornerstone of condensed-matter physics and fundamentally determine the optical and transport phenomena of the layered PtSe_(2).Here,we have experimentally revealed the detailed electronic structures in layered PtSe_(2),including the CPs in the Brillouin zones(BZs),by means of reflection contrast spectroscopy and spectroscopic ellipsometry(SE).There are three critical points in the BZs attributed to the excitonic transition,quasi-particle band gap,and the band nesting effect related transition,respectively.Three CPs show red-shifting trends with increasing layer number under the mechanism of strong interlayer coupling.We have further revealed the electron–phonon(e–ph)interaction in such layered material,utilizing temperature-dependent absorbance spectroscopy.The strength of e–ph interaction and the average phonon energy also decline with the increasement of layer number.Our findings give a deep understanding to the physics of the layer-dependent evolution of the electronic structure of PtSe_(2),potentially leading to applications in optoelectronics and electronic devices.

Bandgap opening in MoTe2 thin flakes induced by surface oxidation

Recently,the layered transition metal dichalcogenide 1T′-MoTe2 has generated considerable interest due to their superconducting and non-trivial topological properties.Here,we present a systematic study on 1T′-MoTe2 single-crystal and exfoliated thin-flakes by means of electrical transport,scanning tunnelling microscope(STM)measurements and band structure calculations.For a bulk sample,it exhibits large magneto-resistance(MR)and Shubnikov–de Hass oscillations inρxx and a series of Hall plateaus inρxy at low temperatures.Meanwhile,the MoTe2 thin films were intensively investigated with thickness dependence.For samples,without encapsulation,an apparent transition from the intrinsic metallic to insulating state is observed by reducing thickness.In such thin films,we also observed a suppression of the MR and weak anti-localization(WAL)effects.We attributed these effects to disorders originated from the extrinsic surface chemical reaction,which is consistent with the density functional theory(DFT)calculations and in-situ STM results.In contrast to samples without encapsulated protection,we discovered an interesting superconducting transition for those samples with hexagonal Boron Nitride(h-BN)film protection.Our results indicate that the metallic or superconducting behavior is its intrinsic state,and the insulating behavior is likely caused by surface oxidation in few layer 1T’-MoTe2 flakes.

Design and construction of ultra-thin MoSe2 nanosheet-based heterojunction for high-speed and low-noise photodetection

Advances in the photocurrent conversion of two-dimensional (2D) transition metal dichalcogenides have enabled the realization and application of ultrasensitive and broad-spectral photodetectors. The requirements of previous devices constantly drive for complex technological implementation, resulting in limits in scale and complexity. Furthermore, the development of large-area and low-cost photodetectors would be beneficial for applications. Therefore, we demonstrate a novel design of a heterojunction photodetector based on solution-processed ultrathin MoSe2 nanosheets to satisfy the requirements of its application. The photodetector exhibits a high sensitivity to visible–near infrared light, with a linear dynamic range over 124 decibels (dB), a detectivity of ~1.2 × 1012Jones, and noise current approaching 0.1 pA·Hz–1/2at zero bias. Significantly, the device shows an ultra-high response speed up to 30 ns with a 3-dB predicted bandwidth over 32 MHz, which is far better than that of most of the 2D nanostructured and solution-processable photodetectors reported thus far and is comparable to that of commercial Si photodetectors. Combining our results with material-preparation methods, together with the methodology of device fabrication presented herein, can provide a pathway for the large-area integration of low-cost, high-speed photodetectors. [Figure not available: see fulltext.] © 2016, Tsinghua University Press and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.