Noncentrosymmetric nature of single-layer transition metal dichalcogenides manifest itself in the finite piezoelectricity and valley-Zeeman coupling. We microscopically model nonlinear exciton transport in nano-bubble of single-layers of transition metal dichalcogenide. Thanks to the giant piezoelectric effect, we obtain an enormous internal electric field, $E_{\rm piezo}\sim 10^7$V/m, resulting in a built-in dipole moment of excitons. We demonstrate that the piezo-induced dipole-dipole interaction provides a novel channel for the nonlinear exciton transport distinct from the conventional isotropic funneling of excitons and leading to the formation of hexagon-shaped exciton droplet on top of a circularly symmetric nano-bubble. The effect is tunable via the bubble size dependence of the piezo-electric field $E_{\rm piezo} \sim h^2_{\rm max}/R^3$ with $h_{\rm max}$ and $R$ being the bubble height and radius, respectively.
We show that anisotropic biaxial stress can be used to tune the built-in dipole moment of excitons confined in In(Ga)As quantum dots up to complete erasure of its magnitude and inversion of its sign. We demonstrate that this phenomenon is due to piezoelectricity. We present a model to calculate the applied stress, taking advantage of the so-called piezotronic effect, which produces significant changes in the current-voltage characteristics of the strained diode-membranes containing the quantum dots. Finally, self-consistent k.p calculations reveal that the experimental findings can be only acc…
Twistronic van der Waals heterostrutures offer exciting opportunities for engineering optoelectronic properties of nanomaterials. Here, we use multiscale modeling to study trapping of charge carriers and excitons by ferroelectric polarisation and piezoelectric charges by domain structures in twistronic WX$_2$/MoX$_2$ bilayers (X=S,Se). For almost aligned 2H-type bilayers, we find that holes and electrons are trapped in the opposite -- WMo and XX (tungsten over molybdenum {\it versus} overlaying chalcogens) -- corners of the honeycomb domain wall network, swapping their position at a twist angl…
The strong piezoelectric fields accompanying a surface acoustic wave on a semiconductor quantum well structure are employed to dissociate optically generated excitons and efficiently trap the created electron hole pairs in the moving lateral potential superlattice of the sound wave. The resulting spatial separation of the photogenerated ambipolar charges leads to an increase of the radiative lifetime by orders of magnitude as compared to the unperturbed excitons. External and deliberate screening of the lateral piezoelectric fields triggers radiative recombination after very long storage times…
We examine a mechanism by which excitons undergo ultrafast relaxation in common monolayer transition metal dichalcogenides. It is shown that at densities $\approx$ 1$\times$ 10$^{11}$ cm$^{-2}$ and temperatures $ \le 60$ K, excitons in well known monolayers (MoS$_2$, MoSe$_2$, WS$_2$ and WSe$_2$) exist as point-like structureless electron-hole quasi-particles. We evaluate the average rate of exciton energy relaxation due to acoustic phonons via the deformation potential and the piezoelectric coupling mechanisms and examine the effect of spreading of the excitonic wavefunction into the region p…
We have succeeded in trapping indirect excitons in coupled quantum wells in a harmonic potential minimum via inhomogeneous applied stress and electric field. These excitons exhibit a strong Stark shift (over 60 meV), long lifetime (100 ns), and high diffusivity (1000 cm$^2$/s). This approach is very promising for obtaining the high exciton density needed for Bose condensation of excitons in two dimensions.
We theoretically demonstrate the coupling between excitons in 2D semiconductors and surface plasmons in a thin metal film by means of a surface acoustic wave (SAW), proving that the generated exciton-plasmon polaritons (or plexcitons) are in the strong coupling regime. The strain field of the SAW creates a dynamic diffraction grating providing the momentum match for the surface plasmons, whereas the piezoelectric field, that could dissociate the excitons, is cancelled out by the metal. This is exemplified for monolayer MoS$\mathrm{_{2}}$ and mono- and few-layer black phosphorus on top of a thi…
Under optical excitation, coupled quantum wells are known to reveal fascinating features in the photoluminescence pattern originating from dipole orientated indirect excitons. The appearance of an external ring has been attributed to macroscopic charge separation in the quantum well plane. We present a classical model of non-linear diffusion to account for the observed fragmentation of the external ring into a periodic array of islands. The model incorporates the Coulomb interactions between electrons, holes and indirect excitons. At low temperatures, these interactions lead to pattern formati…
We investigate the optical properties of InAs quantum dots grown by molecular beam epitaxy on GaAs(110) using Bi as a surfactant. The quantum dots are synthesized on planar GaAs(110) substrates as well as on the {110} sidewall facets of GaAs nanowires. At 10 K, neutral excitons confined in these quantum dots give rise to photoluminescence lines between 1.1 and 1.4 eV. Magneto-photoluminescence spectroscopy reveals that for small quantum dots emitting between 1.3 and 1.4 eV, the electron-hole coherence length in and perpendicular to the (110) plane is on the order of 5 and 2 nm, respectively. T…
In this paper a theoretical studies of the space separation of electron and hole wave functions in the quantum well ZnO/Mg0.27Zn0.73O are presented. For this aim the self-consistent solution of the Schrödinger equations for electrons and holes and the Poisson equations at the presence of spatially varying quantum well potential due to the piezoelectric effect and local exchange-correlation potential is found. The one-dimensional Poisson equation contains the Hartree potential which includes the one-dimensional charge density for electrons and holes along the polarization field distribution. Th…
A novel method to experimentally study the dynamics of long-living excitons in coupled quantum well semiconductor heterostructures is presented. Lithographically defined top gate electrodes imprint in-plane artificial potential landscapes for excitons via the quantum confined Stark effect. Excitons are shuttled laterally in a time-dependent potential landscape defined by an interdigitated gate structure. Long-range drift exceeding a distance of 150 um at an exciton drift velocity > 1000 m/s is observed in a gradient potential formed by a resistive gate stripe.
Modeling the charge-generation process is highly important to understand device physics and optimize power conversion efficiency of bulk-heterojunction (BHJ) organic solar cells (OSCs). Free carriers are generated by both ultrafast exciton delocalization and slow exciton diffusion and dissociation at the heterojunction interface. In this work, we developed a systematic numerical simulation to describe the charge-generation process by a modified drift-diffusion model. The transport, recombination, and collection of free carriers are incorporated to fully capture the device response. The theoret…
The interplay of optics, dynamics and transport is crucial for the design of novel optoelectronic devices, such as photodetectors and solar cells. In this context, transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) have received much attention. Here, strongly bound excitons dominate optical excitation, carrier dynamics and diffusion processes. While the first two have been intensively studied, there is a lack of fundamental understanding of non-equilibrium phenomena associated with exciton transport that is of central importance e.g. for high efficiency light harvesting. In this work, we provide microsco…
We study the acoustoelectric effect in two-dimensional materials like transition metal dichalcogenide monolayers located on a non-piezoelectric substrate and exposed to the Rayleigh surface acoustic waves. We investigate the behavior of the Hall component of the electric current density which appears due to the trigonal warping of the valleys in k-space. We calculate the spectrum of the current density and study its dependence on the electron effective lifetime and density in the sample. We distinguish between the drift and diffusive components of the current and show, which components turn ou…
Two-dimensional halide perovskites are among intensely studied materials platforms profiting from solution based growth and chemical flexibility. They feature exceptionally strong interactions among electronic, optical as well as vibrational excitations and hold a great potential for future optoelectronic applications. A key feature for these materials is the occurrence of structural phase transitions that can impact their functional properties, including the electronic band gap and optical response dominated by excitons. However, to what extent the phase-transitions in two-dimensional perovsk…
Semiconductor heterostructures are backbones for solid state based optoelectronic devices. Recent advances in assembly techniques for van der Waals heterostructures has enabled the band engineering of semiconductor heterojunctions for atomically thin optoelectronic devices. In two-dimensional heterostructures with type II band alignment, interlayer excitons, where Coulomb-bound electrons and holes are confined to opposite layers, have shown promising properties for novel excitonic devices, including a large binding energy, micron-scale in-plane drift-diffusion, and long population and valley p…
We report a photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy study of charge state control in single self-assembled InAs/GaAs quantum dots by applying electric and/or magnetic fields at 4.2 K. Neutral and charged exciton complexes were observed under applied bias voltages from -0.5 V to 0.5 V by controlling the carrier tunneling. The highly negatively charged exciton emission becomes stronger with increasing pumping power, arising from the fact that electrons have a smaller effective mass than holes and are more easily captured by the quantum dots. The integrated PL intensity of negatively charged excitons…
Atomistic electronic structure calculations are performed to study the coherent inter-dot couplings of the electronic states in a single InGaAs quantum dot molecule. The experimentally observed excitonic spectrum [12] is quantitatively reproduced, and the correct energy states are identified based on a previously validated atomistic tight binding model. The extended devices are represented explicitly in space with 15 million atom structures. An excited state spectroscopy technique is presented in which the externally applied electric field is swept to probe the ladder of the electronic energy …
Exciton Valley Hall effect is the spatial separation of the valley-tagged excitons in the presence of a drag force. Usually, the effect is associated with the anomalous velocity acquired by the particles due to the Berry curvature of the Bloch bands. Here we show that the anomalous velocity plays no role in the exciton valley Hall effect, which is governed by the side-jump and skew scattering mechanisms. We develop microscopic theory of the exciton valley Hall effect in the presence of synthetic electric field and phonon drag and calculate all relevant contributions to the valley Hall current …
We calculate the current-voltage characteristic of a two-dimensional electron system (2DES) subjected to a magnetic field at strong electric fields. The interaction of electrons with piezoelectric acoustic phonons is considered as a major scattering mechanism governing the current-voltage characteristic. It is shown that at a sufficiently strong electric field corresponding to the Hall drift velocity exceeding the velocity of sound, the dissipative current exhibits an overshoot. The overshoot of the dissipative current can result in a breakdown of the absolute negative conductivity caused by m…
Tuning the electronic properties of a material by subjecting it to strain constitutes an important strategy to enhance the performance of semiconducting electronic devices. Using local strain, confinement potentials for excitons can be engineered, with exciting possibilities for trapping excitons for quantum optics and for efficient collection of solar energy. Two-dimensional materials are able to withstand large strains before rupture, offering a unique opportunity to introduce large local strains. Here, we study atomically thin MoS2 layers with large local strains of up to 2.5% induced by co…
The propagation of a surface acoustic wave (SAW) on GaAs/AlGaAs heterostructures is studied in the case where the two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) is subject to a strong magnetic field and a smooth random potential with correlation length Lambda and amplitude Delta. The electron wave functions are described in a quasiclassical picture using results of percolation theory for two-dimensional systems. In accordance with the experimental situation, Lambda is assumed to be much smaller than the sound wavelength 2*pi/q. This restricts the absorption of surface phonons at a filling factor \barν ap…
The interest in two-dimensional and layered materials continues to expand, driven by the compelling properties of individual atomic layers that can be stacked and/or twisted into synthetic heterostructures. The plethora of electronic properties as well as the emergence of many different quasiparticles, including plasmons, polaritons, trions and excitons with large, tunable binding energies that all can be controlled and modulated through electrical means has given rise to many device applications. In addition, these materials exhibit both room-temperature spin and valley polarization, magnetis…
Phonon-enhanced strain sensitivity of quantum dots in two-dimensional semiconductors
School of Physical Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology Goa（印度理工学院果阿分校物理科学学院）；Research Center for Electronic and Optical Materials, National Institute for Materials Science（国家材料科学研究所电子与光学材料研究中心）；Research Center for Materials Nanoarchitectonics, National Institute for Materials Science（国家材料科学研究所材料纳米架构研究中心）
