Dark exciton anti-funneling in atomically thin semiconductors

Roberto Rosati, Robert Schmidt, Samuel Brem, Raül Perea-Causín, Iris Niehues, Johannes Kern, Johann A. Preuß, Robert Schneider, Steffen Michaelis de Vasconcellos, Rudolf Bratschitsch () and Ermin Malic ()
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Roberto Rosati: Philipps-Universität Marburg
Robert Schmidt: University of Münster
Samuel Brem: Philipps-Universität Marburg
Raül Perea-Causín: Chalmers University of Technology, Department of Physics
Iris Niehues: University of Münster
Johannes Kern: University of Münster
Johann A. Preuß: University of Münster
Robert Schneider: University of Münster
Steffen Michaelis de Vasconcellos: University of Münster
Rudolf Bratschitsch: University of Münster
Ermin Malic: Philipps-Universität Marburg

Nature Communications, 2021, vol. 12, issue 1, 1-7

Abstract: Abstract Transport of charge carriers is at the heart of current nanoelectronics. In conventional materials, electronic transport can be controlled by applying electric fields. Atomically thin semiconductors, however, are governed by excitons, which are neutral electron-hole pairs and as such cannot be controlled by electrical fields. Recently, strain engineering has been introduced to manipulate exciton propagation. Strain-induced energy gradients give rise to exciton funneling up to a micrometer range. Here, we combine spatiotemporal photoluminescence measurements with microscopic theory to track the way of excitons in time, space and energy. We find that excitons surprisingly move away from high-strain regions. This anti-funneling behavior can be ascribed to dark excitons which possess an opposite strain-induced energy variation compared to bright excitons. Our findings open new possibilities to control transport in exciton-dominated materials. Overall, our work represents a major advance in understanding exciton transport that is crucial for technological applications of atomically thin materials.

Date: 2021
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-27425-y

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