Structure of the moiré exciton captured by imaging its electron and hole

Ouri Karni, Elyse Barré, Vivek Pareek, Johnathan D. Georgaras, Michael K. L. Man, Chakradhar Sahoo, David R. Bacon, Xing Zhu, Henrique B. Ribeiro, Aidan L. O’Beirne, Jenny Hu, Abdullah Al-Mahboob, Mohamed M. M. Abdelrasoul, Nicholas S. Chan, Arka Karmakar, Andrew J. Winchester, Bumho Kim, Kenji Watanabe, Takashi Taniguchi, Katayun Barmak, Julien Madéo, Felipe H. da Jornada, Tony F. Heinz and Keshav M. Dani ()
Additional contact information
Ouri Karni: Stanford University
Elyse Barré: SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory
Vivek Pareek: Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University
Johnathan D. Georgaras: Stanford University
Michael K. L. Man: Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University
Chakradhar Sahoo: Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University
David R. Bacon: Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University
Xing Zhu: Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University
Henrique B. Ribeiro: SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory
Aidan L. O’Beirne: SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory
Jenny Hu: Stanford University
Abdullah Al-Mahboob: Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University
Mohamed M. M. Abdelrasoul: Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University
Nicholas S. Chan: Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University
Arka Karmakar: Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University
Andrew J. Winchester: Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University
Bumho Kim: Columbia University
Kenji Watanabe: National Institute for Materials Science
Takashi Taniguchi: National Institute for Materials Science
Katayun Barmak: Columbia University
Julien Madéo: Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University
Felipe H. da Jornada: Stanford University
Tony F. Heinz: Stanford University
Keshav M. Dani: Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University

Nature, 2022, vol. 603, issue 7900, 247-252

Abstract: Abstract Interlayer excitons (ILXs) — electron–hole pairs bound across two atomically thin layered semiconductors — have emerged as attractive platforms to study exciton condensation1–4, single-photon emission and other quantum information applications5–7. Yet, despite extensive optical spectroscopic investigations8–12, critical information about their size, valley configuration and the influence of the moiré potential remains unknown. Here, in a WSe2/MoS2 heterostructure, we captured images of the time-resolved and momentum-resolved distribution of both of the particles that bind to form the ILX: the electron and the hole. We thereby obtain a direct measurement of both the ILX diameter of around 5.2 nm, comparable with the moiré-unit-cell length of 6.1 nm, and the localization of its centre of mass. Surprisingly, this large ILX is found pinned to a region of only 1.8 nm diameter within the moiré cell, smaller than the size of the exciton itself. This high degree of localization of the ILX is backed by Bethe–Salpeter equation calculations and demonstrates that the ILX can be localized within small moiré unit cells. Unlike large moiré cells, these are uniform over large regions, allowing the formation of extended arrays of localized excitations for quantum technology.

Date: 2022
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DOI: 10.1038/s41586-021-04360-y

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