Negative electronic compressibility and tunable spin splitting in WSe2

DOI: 10.1038/nnano.2015.217
PMID: 26389661

Authors: J. Riley (University of St Andrews) , W. Meevasana (Suranaree University of Technology) , L. Bawden (University of St Andrews) , M. Asakawa (Tokyo Institute of Technology) , T. Takayama (University of Tokyo) , T. Eknapakul (Suranaree University of Technology) , T. Kim (Diamond Light Source) , M. Hoesch (Diamond Light Source) , S. K. Mo (Advanced Light Source) , H. Takagi (University of Tokyo) , T. Sasagawa (Tokyo Institute of Technology) , M. S. Bahramy (The University of Tokyo) , P. D. C. King (University of St Andrews)
Co-authored by industrial partner: No

Type: Journal Paper
Journal: Nature Nanotechnology , VOL 10 (12) , PAGES 1043-1047

State: Published (Approved)
Published: September 2015
Diamond Proposal Number(s): 9500 , 11383

Abstract: Tunable bandgaps, extraordinarily large exciton-binding energies, strong light–matter coupling and a locking of the electron spin with layer and valley pseudospins have established transition-metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) as a unique class of two-dimensional (2D) semiconductors with wide-ranging practical applications. Using angle-resolved photoemission (ARPES), we show here that doping electrons at the surface of the prototypical strong spin–orbit TMD WSe2 , akin to applying a gate voltage in a transistor-type device, induces a counterintuitive lowering of the surface chemical potential concomitant with the formation of a multivalley 2D electron gas (2DEG). These measurements provide a direct spectroscopic signature of negative electronic compressibility (NEC), a result of electron–electron interactions, which we find persists to carrier densities approximately three orders of magnitude higher than in typical semiconductor 2DEGs that exhibit this effect. An accompanying tunable spin splitting of the valence bands further reveals a complex interplay between single-particle band-structure evolution and many-body interactions in electrostatically doped TMDs. Understanding and exploiting this will open up new opportunities for advanced electronic and quantum-logic devices.

Journal Keywords: Electronic Properties And Materials; Surfaces; Interfaces And Thin Films; Two-Dimensional Materials

Diamond Keywords: Semiconductors

Subject Areas: Physics, Materials


Instruments: I05-ARPES

Other Facilities: ALS

Added On: 22/09/2015 14:56

Discipline Tags:

Surfaces Hard condensed matter - electronic properties Physics Electronics Materials Science

Technical Tags:

Spectroscopy Angle Resolved Photoemission Spectroscopy (ARPES)