Observation of ultrafast interfacial Meitner-Auger energy transfer in a Van der Waals heterostructure

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

  • Shuo Dong - , Fritz Haber Institute of the Max Planck Society, CAS - Institute of Physics (Author)
  • Samuel Beaulieu - , Fritz Haber Institute of the Max Planck Society, Université de Bordeaux (Author)
  • Malte Selig - , Technical University of Berlin (Author)
  • Philipp Rosenzweig - , Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research (Author)
  • Dominik Christiansen - , Technical University of Berlin (Author)
  • Tommaso Pincelli - , Fritz Haber Institute of the Max Planck Society (Author)
  • Maciej Dendzik - , Fritz Haber Institute of the Max Planck Society, KTH Royal Institute of Technology (Author)
  • Jonas D. Ziegler - , Chair of Ultrafast Microscopy and Photonics (ct.qmat), Clusters of Excellence ct.qmat: Complexity and Topology in Quantum Matter, ETH Zurich (Author)
  • Julian Maklar - , Fritz Haber Institute of the Max Planck Society (Author)
  • R. Patrick Xian - , Fritz Haber Institute of the Max Planck Society, University of Toronto (Author)
  • Alexander Neef - , Fritz Haber Institute of the Max Planck Society (Author)
  • Avaise Mohammed - , Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research (Author)
  • Armin Schulz - , Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research (Author)
  • Mona Stadler - , University of Stuttgart (Author)
  • Michael Jetter - , University of Stuttgart (Author)
  • Peter Michler - , University of Stuttgart (Author)
  • Takashi Taniguchi - , National Institute for Materials Science Tsukuba (Author)
  • Kenji Watanabe - , National Institute for Materials Science Tsukuba (Author)
  • Hidenori Takagi - , Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research, The University of Tokyo, University of Stuttgart (Author)
  • Ulrich Starke - , Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research (Author)
  • Alexey Chernikov - , Chair of Ultrafast Microscopy and Photonics (ct.qmat), Clusters of Excellence ct.qmat: Complexity and Topology in Quantum Matter (Author)
  • Martin Wolf - , Fritz Haber Institute of the Max Planck Society (Author)
  • Hiro Nakamura - , Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research, University of Arkansas System (Author)
  • Andreas Knorr - , Technical University of Berlin (Author)
  • Laurenz Rettig - , Fritz Haber Institute of the Max Planck Society (Author)
  • Ralph Ernstorfer - , Fritz Haber Institute of the Max Planck Society, Technical University of Berlin (Author)

Abstract

Atomically thin layered van der Waals heterostructures feature exotic and emergent optoelectronic properties. With growing interest in these novel quantum materials, the microscopic understanding of fundamental interfacial coupling mechanisms is of capital importance. Here, using multidimensional photoemission spectroscopy, we provide a layer- and momentum-resolved view on ultrafast interlayer electron and energy transfer in a monolayer-WSe2/graphene heterostructure. Depending on the nature of the optically prepared state, we find the different dominating transfer mechanisms: while electron injection from graphene to WSe2 is observed after photoexcitation of quasi-free hot carriers in the graphene layer, we establish an interfacial Meitner-Auger energy transfer process following the excitation of excitons in WSe2. By analysing the time-energy-momentum distributions of excited-state carriers with a rate-equation model, we distinguish these two types of interfacial dynamics and identify the ultrafast conversion of excitons in WSe2 to valence band transitions in graphene. Microscopic calculations find interfacial dipole-monopole coupling underlying the Meitner-Auger energy transfer to dominate over conventional Förster- and Dexter-type interactions, in agreement with the experimental observations. The energy transfer mechanism revealed here might enable new hot-carrier-based device concepts with van der Waals heterostructures.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Article number5057
JournalNature communications
Volume14
Issue number1
Publication statusPublished - 19 Aug 2023
Peer-reviewedYes

External IDs

PubMed 37598179