Nonvolatile Control of Valley Polarized Emission in 2D WSe<sub>2</sub>-AlScN Heterostructures.

Singh, Simrjit; Kim, Kwan-Ho; Jo, Kiyoung; Musavigharavi, Pariasadat; Kim, Bumho; Zheng, Jeffrey; Trainor, Nicholas; Chen, Chen et al. · ACS Nano · 2024

basic_science · Level V

Where this comes from

Abstract

Achieving robust and electrically controlled valley polarization in monolayer transition metal dichalcogenides (ML-TMDs) is a frontier challenge for realistic valleytronic applications. Theoretical investigations show that the integration of 2D materials with ferroelectrics is a promising strategy; however, an experimental demonstration has remained elusive. Here, we fabricate ferroelectric field-effect transistors using a ML-WSe<sub>2</sub> channel and an Al<sub>0.68</sub>Sc<sub>0.32</sub>N (AlScN) ferroelectric dielectric and experimentally demonstrate efficient tuning as well as non-volatile control of valley polarization. We measure a large array of transistors and obtain a maximum valley polarization of ∼27% at 80 K with stable retention up to 5400 s. The enhancement in the valley polarization is ascribed to the efficient exciton-to-trion (X-T) conversion and its coupling with an out-of-plane electric field, viz., the quantum-confined Stark effect. This changes the valley depolarization pathway from strong exchange interactions to slow spin-flip intervalley scattering. Our research demonstrates a promising approach for achieving non-volatile control over valley polarization for practical valleytronic device applications.