Boosting quantum yields in two-dimensional semiconductors via proximal metal plates

Yongjun Lee, Johnathas D’arf Severo Forte, Andrey Chaves, Anshuman Kumar, Trang Thu Tran, Youngbum Kim, Shrawan Roy, Takashi Taniguchi, Kenji Watanabe, Alexey Chernikov, Joon I. Jang, Tony Low () and Jeongyong Kim ()
Additional contact information
Yongjun Lee: Sungkyunkwan University
Johnathas D’arf Severo Forte: Universidade Federal do Ceará, Campus do Pici
Andrey Chaves: Universidade Federal do Ceará, Campus do Pici
Anshuman Kumar: Indian Institute of Technology Bombay
Trang Thu Tran: Sungkyunkwan University
Youngbum Kim: Sungkyunkwan University
Shrawan Roy: Sungkyunkwan University
Takashi Taniguchi: National Institute for Materials Science
Kenji Watanabe: National Institute for Materials Science
Alexey Chernikov: Technische Universität Dresden
Joon I. Jang: Sogang University
Tony Low: University of Minnesota
Jeongyong Kim: Sungkyunkwan University

Nature Communications, 2021, vol. 12, issue 1, 1-9

Abstract: Abstract Monolayer transition metal dichalcogenides (1L-TMDs) have tremendous potential as atomically thin, direct bandgap semiconductors that can be used as convenient building blocks for quantum photonic devices. However, the short exciton lifetime due to the defect traps and the strong exciton-exciton interaction in TMDs has significantly limited the efficiency of exciton emission from this class of materials. Here, we show that exciton-exciton interaction in 1L-WS2 can be effectively screened using an ultra-flat Au film substrate separated by multilayers of hexagonal boron nitride. Under this geometry, induced dipolar exciton-exciton interaction becomes quadrupole-quadrupole interaction because of effective image dipoles formed within the metal. The suppressed exciton-exciton interaction leads to a significantly improved quantum yield by an order of magnitude, which is also accompanied by a reduction in the exciton-exciton annihilation (EEA) rate, as confirmed by time-resolved optical measurements. A theoretical model accounting for the screening of the dipole-dipole interaction is in a good agreement with the dependence of EEA on exciton densities. Our results suggest that fundamental EEA processes in the TMD can be engineered through proximal metallic screening, which represents a practical approach towards high-efficiency 2D light emitters.

Date: 2021
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-27418-x

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