Localized Excitons in NbSe<sub>2</sub>-MoSe<sub>2</sub> Heterostructures
Jaydeep Joshi, Tong Zhou, Sergiy Krylyuk, Albert V. Davydov, Igor Žutić, Patrick M. Vora
Abstract
Neutral and charged excitons (trions) in atomically thin materials offer important capabilities for photonics, from ultrafast photodetectors to highly efficient light-emitting diodes and lasers. Recent studies of van der Waals (vdW) heterostructures comprised of dissimilar monolayer materials have uncovered a wealth of optical phenomena that are predominantly governed by interlayer interactions. Here, we examine the optical properties in NbSe2-MoSe2 vdW heterostructures, which provide an important model system to study metal–semiconductor interfaces, a common element in optoelectronics. Through low-temperature photoluminescence (PL) microscopy, we discover a sharp emission feature, L1, that is localized at the NbSe2-capped regions of MoSe2. L1 is observed at energies below the commonly studied MoSe2 excitons and trions and exhibits temperature- and power-dependent PL consistent with exciton localization in a confining potential. This PL feature is robust, observed in a variety of samples fabricated with different stacking geometries and cleaning procedures. Using first-principles calculations, we reveal that the confinement potential required for exciton localization naturally arises from the in-plane band bending due to the changes in the electron affinity between pristine MoSe2 and NbSe2-MoSe2 heterostructure. We discuss the implications of our studies for atomically thin optoelectronics devices with atomically sharp interfaces and tunable electronic structures.