Photoexcitation by an intense laser pulse can alter the free energy landscape of a solid so that it can access states of matter that do not normally exist in thermal equilibrium. Discoveries of such light-induced states are often found in materials that host phase competition, where one state of matter lies in close proximity to another and photoexcitation provides sufficient energy to overcome the barrier between the neighboring phases. Here, we study the rare-earth tritelluride family (RTe3): It possesses two nearly-equivalent and competing charge density waves (CDWs) in equilibrium, out of which one dominates over the other due to a small lattice anisotropy. When both CDWs are present, such as in ErTe3, an optical pulse transiently weakens both orders. If only the dominant CDW exists, such as in LaTe3, this order is suppressed by photoexcitation while the subdominant density wave emerges. The light-induced subdominant CDW is distinct from its equilibrium counterpart. Nonetheless, this light-induced CDW relaxes at the same time when the original CDW is re-established, indicating a strong phase competition between the two in the out-of-equilibrium regime. Our results provide a framework for understanding the interplay between competing orders and for unleashing novel states of matter that are "trapped" under equilibrium conditions.
Atomically thin transition-metal dichalcogenide (TMD) semiconductors possess strong Coulomb interactions due to reduced dielectric screening, leading to the formation of excitons with exceptionally large binding energies. The enhanced stability of excitons in these materials provides a unique platform to investigate excitonic interactions at room temperature and to examine the role of plasma effects and excitonic interactions over a broad range of excitation densities.
We report an excitation-density dependent crossover between two regimes: Using ultrafast absorption spectroscopy, we observe a pronounced red shift of the exciton resonance followed by an anomalous blue shift with increasing excitation density. Using both material-realistic computation and phenomenological modeling, we attribute this observation to long-range Coulomb interaction in the presence of plasma screening in an attraction-repulsion crossover with the short-ranged exciton-exciton interaction that mimics the Lennard-Jones potential between atoms, suggesting a strong analogy between excitons and atoms in respect of inter-particle interaction.
Our findings underline the important role of many-particle renormalizations and screening due to excited carriers in the device-relevant regime of optically or electrically excited TMDs.
Monolayer transition-metal dichalcogenides such as MoS2 and WS2 are prime examples of atomically thin semiconducting crystals that exhibit remarkable electronic and optical properties. They have a pair of valleys that can serve as a new electronic degree of freedom, and these valleys obey optical selection rules with circularly polarized light. Here, we discuss how ultrafast laser pulses can be used to tune their energy levels in a controllable valley-selective manner. The energy tunability is extremely large, comparable to what would be obtained using a hundred Tesla of magnetic field. We will also show that such valley tunability can be performed while we effectively manipulate the valley selection rules. Finally, we will explore the prospect of using this technique through photoemission spectroscopy to create a new phase of matter called a valley Floquet topological insulator.
Semiconductors that are atomically thin can exhibit novel optical properties beyond those encountered in the bulk compounds. Monolayer transition-metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) are leading examples of such semiconductors that possess remarkable optical properties. They obey unique selection rules where light with different circular polarization can be used for selective photoexcitation at two different valleys in the momentum space. These valleys constitute bandgaps that are normally locked in the same energy. Selectively varying their energies is of great interest for applications because it unlocks the potential to control valley degree of freedom, and offers a new promising way to carry information in next-generation valleytronics. In this proceeding paper, we show that the energy gaps at the two valleys can be shifted relative to each other by means of the optical Stark effect in a controllable valley-selective manner. We discuss the physics of the optical Stark effect, and we describe the mechanism that leads to its valleyselectivity in monolayer TMD tungsten disulfide (WS2).
Conference Committee Involvement (2)
Nanostructure Integration Techniques for Manufacturable Devices, Circuits, and Systems: Interfaces, Interconnects, and Nanosystems
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