Search for: All records

Moiré coupling in transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) superlattices introduces flat minibands that enable strong electronic correlation and fascinating correlated states, and it also modifies the strong Coulomb-interaction-driven excitons and gives rise to moiré excitons. Here, we introduce the layer degree of freedom to the WSe₂/WS₂moiré superlattice by changing WSe₂from monolayer to bilayer and trilayer. We observe systematic changes of optical spectra of the moiré excitons, which directly confirm the highly interfacial nature of moiré coupling at the WSe₂/WS₂interface. In addition, the energy resonances of moiré excitons are strongly modified, with their separation significantly increased in multilayer WSe₂/monolayer WS₂moiré superlattice. The additional WSe₂layers also modulate the strong electronic correlation strength, evidenced by the reduced Mott transition temperature with added WSe₂layer(s). The layer dependence of both moiré excitons and correlated electronic states can be well described by our theoretical model. Our study presents a new method to tune the strong electronic correlation and moiré exciton bands in the TMDCs moiré superlattices, ushering in an exciting platform to engineer quantum phenomena stemming from strong correlation and Coulomb interaction.

 

Named after the two‐faced Roman god of transitions, transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD) Janus monolayers have two different chalcogen surfaces, inherently breaking the out‐of‐plane mirror symmetry. The broken mirror symmetry and the resulting potential gradient lead to the emergence of quantum properties such as the Rashba effect and the formation of dipolar excitons. Experimental access to these quantum properties, however, hinges on the ability to produce high‐quality 2D Janus monolayers. Here, these results introduce a holistic 2D Janus synthesis technique that allows real‐time monitoring of the growth process. This prototype chamber integrates in situ spectroscopy, offering fundamental insights into the structural evolution and growth kinetics, that allow the evaluation and optimization of the quality of Janus monolayers. The versatility of this method is demonstrated by synthesizing and monitoring the conversion of SWSe, SNbSe, and SMoSe Janus monolayers. Deterministic conversion and real‐time data collection further aid in conversion of exfoliated TMDs to Janus monolayers and unparalleled exciton linewidth values are reached, compared to the current best standard. The results offer an insight into the process kinetics and aid in the development of new Janus monolayers with high optical quality, which is much needed to access their exotic properties.

 

A distinct class of 2D layered quantum materials with the chemical formula ofRTe₃(R= lanthanide) has gained significant attention owing to the occurrence of collective quantum states, superconductivity, charge density waves (CDW), spin density waves, and other advanced quantum properties. To study the Fermi surface nesting driven CDW formation, the layeredRTe₃family stages an excellent low dimensional genre system. In addition to the primary energy gap feature observed at higher energy, optical spectroscopy study on someRTe₃evidence a second CDW energy gap structure indicating the occurrence of multiple CDW ordering even with light and intermediateRTe₃compounds. Here, a comprehensive review of the fundamentals ofRTe₃layered tritelluride materials is presented with a special focus on the recent advances made in electronic structure, CDW transition, superconductivity, magnetic properties of these unique quantum materials. A detailed description of successful synthesis routes including the flux method, self‐flux method, and CVT along with potential applications is summarized.

 

A modulated bi‐phase synthesis towards large‐scale manganese 1,4‐benzenedicarboxylate (MnBDC) MOFs with a precise control over their morphology (bulk vs. layered) is presented. Metal precursors and organic ligands are separated to reduce the kinetic reaction rates for better control over the crystallization process. Based on scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X‐ray diffraction (XRD), energy‐dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy (EDS), and Raman spectroscopy studies, the continuous ligand supply along with the presence of pyridine capping agent are highly effective in promoting the layer‐by‐layer growth and achieving large crystal sizes. Once layered MnBDC is stabilized, topotactic intercalation chemistry was used to demonstrate the feasibility of bromine intercalation on these layered materials. Bromine intercalation is possible between the MOFs layers for the first time. Bromine intercalation causes colossal reduction in layered MnBDC band gap while it has no observable effect on bulk MOFs.

 

Strong many-body interaction in two-dimensional transitional metal dichalcogenides provides a unique platform to study the interplay between different quasiparticles, such as prominent phonon replica emission and modified valley-selection rules. A large out-of-plane magnetic field is expected to modify the exciton-phonon interactions by quantizing excitons into discrete Landau levels, which is largely unexplored. Here, we observe the Landau levels originating from phonon-exciton complexes and directly probe exciton-phonon interaction under a quantizing magnetic field. Phonon-exciton interaction lifts the inter-Landau-level transition selection rules for dark trions, manifested by a distinctively different Landau fan pattern compared to bright trions. This allows us to experimentally extract the effective mass of both holes and electrons. The onset of Landau quantization coincides with a significant increase of the valley-Zeeman shift, suggesting strong many-body effects on the phonon-exciton interaction. Our work demonstrates monolayer WSe₂as an intriguing playground to study phonon-exciton interactions and their interplay with charge, spin, and valley.

 

Newly discovered 2D Janus transition metal dichalcogenides layers have gained much attention from a theory perspective owing to their unique atomic structure and exotic materials properties, but little to no experimental data are available on these materials. Here, experimental and theoretical studies establish the vibrational and optical behavior of 2D Janus S–W–Se and S–Mo–Se monolayers under high pressures for the first time. Chemical vapor deposition (CVD)‐grown classical transition metal dichalcogenides (TMD) monolayers are first transferred onto van der Waals (vdW) mica substrates and converted to 2D Janus sheets by surface plasma technique, and then integrated into a 500 µm size diamond anvil cell for high‐pressure studies. The results show that 2D Janus layers do not undergo phase transition up to 15 GPa, and in this pressure regime, their vibrational modes exhibit a nonmonotonic response to the applied pressures (dω/dP). Interestingly, these 2D Janus monolayers exhibit unique blueshift in photoluminescence (PL) upon compression, which is in contrast to many other traditional semiconductor materials. Overall theoretical simulations offer in‐depth insights and reveal that the overall optical response is a result of competition between theab‐plane (blueshift) andc‐axis (redshift) compression. The overall findings shed the very first light on how 2D Janus monolayers respond under extreme pressures and expand the fundamental understanding of these materials.

 

Alloying selected layered transitional metal trichalcogenides (TMTCs) with unique chain‐like structures offers the opportunities for structural, optical, and electrical engineering thus expands the regime of this class of pseudo‐one‐dimensional materials. Here, the novel phase transition in anisotropic Nb_(1−x)Ti_xS₃alloys is demonstrated for the first time. Results show that Nb_(1−x)Ti_xS₃can be fully alloyed across the entire composition range from triclinic‐phase NbS₃to monoclinic‐phase TiS₃. Surprisingly, incorporation of a small concentration of Ti (x ≈0.05–0.18) into NbS₃host matrix is sufficient to induce triclinic to monoclinic transition. Theoretical studies suggest that Ti atoms effectively introduce hole doping, thus rapidly decreases the total energy of monoclinic phase and induces the phase transition. When alloyed, crystalline and optical anisotropy are largely preserved as evidenced by high resolution transmission electron microscopy and angle‐resolved Raman spectroscopy. Further Raman measurements identify Raman modes to determine crystalline anisotropy direction and offer insights into the degree of anisotropy. Overall results introduce Nb_(1−x)Ti_xS₃as a new and easy phase change material and mark the first phase engineering in anisotropic van der Waals (vdW) trichalcogenide systems for their potential applications in two‐dimensional superconductivity, electronics, photonics, and information technologies.

 

Abstract Engineering the properties of quantum materials via strong light-matter coupling is a compelling research direction with a multiplicity of modern applications. Those range from modifying charge transport in organic molecules, steering particle correlation and interactions, and even controlling chemical reactions. Here, we study the modification of the material properties via strong coupling and demonstrate an effective inversion of the excitonic band-ordering in a monolayer of WSe 2 with spin-forbidden, optically dark ground state. In our experiments, we harness the strong light-matter coupling between cavity photon and the high energy, spin-allowed bright exciton, and thus creating two bright polaritonic modes in the optical bandgap with the lower polariton mode pushed below the WSe 2 dark state. We demonstrate that in this regime the commonly observed luminescence quenching stemming from the fast relaxation to the dark ground state is prevented, which results in the brightening of this intrinsically dark material. We probe this effective brightening by temperature-dependent photoluminescence, and we find an excellent agreement with a theoretical model accounting for the inversion of the band ordering and phonon-assisted polariton relaxation. 

Abstract The formation of a charge density wave state is characterized by an order parameter. The way it is established provides unique information on both the role that correlation plays in driving the charge density wave formation and the mechanism behind its formation. Here we use time and angle resolved photoelectron spectroscopy to optically perturb the charge-density phase in 1T-TiSe $$_2$$ 2  and follow the recovery of its order parameter as a function of energy, momentum and excitation density. Our results reveal that two distinct orders contribute to the gap formation, a CDW order and pseudogap-like order, manifested by an overall robustness to optical excitation. A detailed analysis of the magnitude of the the gap as a function of excitation density and delay time reveals the excitonic long-range nature of the CDW gap and the short-range Jahn–Teller character of the pseudogap order. In contrast to the gap, the intensity of the folded Se $$_{4p}$$ 4 p * band can only give access to the excitonic order. These results provide new information into the the long standing debate on the origin of the gap in TiSe $$_2$$ 2  and place it in the same context of other quantum materials where a pseudogap phase appears to be a precursor of long-range order.