Search for: All records

Semiconductor moiré superlattices, characterized by their periodic spatial light emission, unveil a new paradigm of engineered photonic materials. Here, we show that ferroelectric moiré domains formed in a twisted hexagonal boron nitride (t-hBN) substrate can modulate light emission from an adjacent semiconductor MoSe₂monolayer. The electrostatic potential at the surface of the t-hBN substrate provides a simple way to confine excitons in the MoSe₂monolayer. The excitons confined within the domains and at the domain walls are spectrally separated because of a pronounced Stark shift. Moreover, the patterned light emission can be dynamically controlled by electrically gating the ferroelectric domains, introducing a functionality beyond other semiconductor moiré superlattices. Our findings chart an exciting pathway for integrating nanometer-scale moiré ferroelectric domains with various optically active functional layers, paving the way for advanced nanophotonics and metasurfaces. 

Abstract Helical spin structures are expressions of magnetically induced chirality, entangling the dipolar and magnetic orders in materials^1–4. The recent discovery of helical van der Waals multiferroics down to the ultrathin limit raises prospects of large chiral magnetoelectric correlations in two dimensions^5,6. However, the exact nature and magnitude of these couplings have remained unknown so far. Here we perform a precision measurement of the dynamical magnetoelectric coupling for an enantiopure domain in an exfoliated van der Waals multiferroic. We evaluate this interaction in resonance with a collective electromagnon mode, capturing the impact of its oscillations on the dipolar and magnetic orders of the material with a suite of ultrafast optical probes. Our data show a giant natural optical activity at terahertz frequencies, characterized by quadrature modulations between the electric polarization and magnetization components. First-principles calculations further show that these chiral couplings originate from the synergy between the non-collinear spin texture and relativistic spin–orbit interactions, resulting in substantial enhancements over lattice-mediated effects. Our findings highlight the potential for intertwined orders to enable unique functionalities in the two-dimensional limit and pave the way for the development of van der Waals magnetoelectric devices operating at terahertz speeds. 

We demonstrate a new approach to confining excitons in a M oSe₂monolayer via the electrostatic potential from a twisted hBN substrate, which offers more flexibility in controlling exciton properties in a moiré superlattice.