Temporal Evolution of Low-Temperature Phonon Sidebands in Transition Metal Dichalcogenides

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

  • Roberto Rosati - , Chalmers University of Technology (Author)
  • Koloman Wagner - , University of Regensburg (Author)
  • Samuel Brem - , Chalmers University of Technology (Author)
  • Raül Perea-Causín - , Chalmers University of Technology (Author)
  • Edith Wietek - , University of Regensburg (Author)
  • Jonas Zipfel - , University of Regensburg (Author)
  • Jonas D. Ziegler - , University of Regensburg (Author)
  • Malte Selig - , Technical University of Berlin (Author)
  • Takashi Taniguchi - , National Institute for Materials Science Tsukuba (Author)
  • Kenji Watanabe - , National Institute for Materials Science Tsukuba (Author)
  • Andreas Knorr - , Technical University of Berlin (Author)
  • Alexey Chernikov - , University of Regensburg (Author)
  • Ermin Malic - , Chalmers University of Technology (Author)

Abstract

Low-temperature photoluminescence (PL) of hBN-encapsulated monolayer tungsten diselenide (WSe2) shows a multitude of sharp emission peaks below the bright exciton. Some of them have been recently identified as phonon sidebands of momentum-dark states. However, the exciton dynamics behind the emergence of these sidebands has not been revealed yet. In this joint theory-experiment study, we theoretically predict and experimentally observe time-resolved PL, providing microscopic insights into the thermalization of hot excitons formed after optical excitation. In very good agreement between theory and experiment, we demonstrate a spectral red-shift of phonon sidebands on a time scale of tens of picoseconds, reflecting the phonon-driven thermalization of hot excitons in momentum-dark states. Furthermore, we predict the emergence of a transient phonon sideband that vanishes in the stationary PL. The obtained microscopic insights are applicable to a broad class of 2D materials with multiple exciton valleys.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)2756-2764
Number of pages9
JournalACS photonics
Volume7
Issue number10
Publication statusPublished - 21 Oct 2020
Peer-reviewedYes
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

Keywords

  • dark excitons, formation of phonon sidebands, transition metal dichalcogenides