Monolayer molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) is a two-dimensional crystal comprising a single layer of molybdenum atoms sandwiched between two layers of sulfur atoms. Monolayer MoS2 differs from its celebrated all-carbon cousin, graphene, by the presence of a direct band gap leading to robust light absorption and by strong electron-electron interactions leading to formation of rightly bound excitons. In this talk, we demonstrate that both electrical and optical properties of MoS2 can be widely tuned via external influences.

In the first part of the talk, we study changes in the bandgap and phonon spectra in strained MoS2. We investigate the transition from direct to indirect band gap in MoS2 under uniaxial strain. The experimental signatures of this transition include strain-induced changes in the PL wavelength and intensity.

Second, we examine the influence of the environment of MoS2 on its properties. We demonstrate substrate-induced scattering is suppressed in suspended MoS2 specimens. We use photocurrent spectroscopy to study excitons in pristine suspended MoS2. We observe band-edge and van Hove singularity excitons and estimate their binding energy. We study dissociation of these excitons and uncover the mechanism of their contribution to photoresponse of MoS2.

We report temperature and power dependent photoluminescence (PL) of molybdenum disulphide (MoS₂). Mechanical exfoliation of MoS₂, from bulk provides single-layer flakes which are then transferred either to sapphire substrates or suspended over holes in Si/Si 3 N 4 . We measure temperature dependence from ≈ 100K to 400K and power dependence from ≈ 6μW to ≈ 7mW using an Argon laser at 514.5nm and a HeNe laser at 632.8 nm. The PL spectrum exhibits a main exitonic peak(A) at ≈ 1.87eV which consist of both neutral excitons and charged trions (A- or A+) [1]. The A exciton peak and the A- exciton peak redshift and broaden with increasing temperature and power. Along with the A peak, we observe a lower energy bound exciton (BE) that is likely related to defects. The BE,a broad peak centred at ≈ 1.7eV, linearly redshifts and narrows with increasing power. The power dependence of both the main and bound peak saturates above 0.5mW. Raman temperature and power dependence will also be discussed [2].

[1] KF. Mak et al. Nat. Mat 12,207(2013)

[2] R.Yan and J.R.Simpson, S. Bertolazzi and J. Brivio, M. Watson, X.Wu and A. Kis, T.Luo, H.G.Xing, A.R. Hight Walker, ACS Nano 8,1 (2013)

We investigate the effects dimensionality on the electronic properties through the optical spectra of the transition-metal dichalcogenides 2H-TaSe₂ and 1T-TaSe₂, and 1T-TaS₂. In bulk, these materials exhibit electronic states from Mott insulator, commensurate and incommensurate charge-density phases, and superconducting ground state as function of temperature. We explore the evolution of these properties as the materials approach a few layers, achieved via mechanical exfoliation of bulk single-crystals. Raman and photoluminescence spectroscopy of 2H-TaSe₂ and 1T-TaSe₂, and 1T-TaS₂, carried out over a wide-range of temperature, were used as a probe of the change of the electronic properties from the bulk to single-layer phases of the materials. Comparison of the phonon and excitonic transitions as a function of temperature and dimensionality will be presented.

An effective potential mechanism for breaking the inherent sublattice symmetry of graphene has been studied using DFT calculations on hexagonal boron nitride.¹ Electrical detection of CF3Cl phase transitions on graphene shows the existence of a commensurate ordered phase in which this can be tested.² We study the electronic properties of similar phases varying coverage and orientation of CF3Cl with respect of the graphene substrate using VASP ver 5.3.3, with ab initio van der Waals density functionals (vdW-DF1, vdW-DF2).^{3 4} Consistent with a physisorbed phase, binding energies are calculated to be on the order of 280meV, and insensitive to coverage and orientation of the CF3Cl molecules. Charge transfer was calculated to be sensitive with coverage, but not orientation, which is qualitatively consistent with experiment. For low coverages, sub-lattice symmetry breaking effects are responsible for gap openings in the order of 4meV, whereas for large coverages it is the formation of ordered overlayers that opens gaps of 15meV. Furthermore, in bilayer graphene at low coverage we estimate an enhanced gap of 20meV.

[1] Gianluca Giovannetti et al. , PRB 76, 073103(2007)

[2] Yilin Wang et al. , APL 103, 201606 (2013)

[3] Jiri Klimes et al. , PRB 83, 195131 (2011)

[4] Kyuho Lee et al. , PRB 82, 081101(R) (2010)

In nanomaterials optical anisotropies reveal a fundamental relationship between structural and optical properties. In layered materials, optical anisotropies may result from in-plane and out-of-plane dipoles associated with intra- and inter-layer excitations respectively. In this talk, I describe a novel method wherein we resolve the orientation of luminescent excitons and isolate photoluminescence signatures from distinct intra- and inter-layer excitations, respectively. We compare photoluminescence anisotropies in materials with weak or strong interlayer coupling, MoS₂ and the organic semiconductor PTCDA respectively. We demonstrate that photoluminescence from MoS2 mono-, bi- and trilayers originates solely from in-plane excitons, whereas PTCDA supports distinct in-plane and out-of-plane exciton species with different spectra, dipole strengths and temporal dynamics. The insights provided by this work are important for understanding fundamental excitonic properties in layered nanomaterials and designing optical systems that efficiently excite and collectlight from exciton species with different orientations.

Graphene and other two-dimensional (2D) materials possess extraordinary mechanical properties, which are currently being explored in various novel applications. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) nanoindentation experiments on both pristine and polycrystalline samples of 2D materials, while being successful in measuring overall mechanical performance of graphene, require some theoretical input to extract the important mechanical properties. Large-scale atomistic molecular dynamics simulations are used to predict the mechanical properties of 2D materials, such as the elastic moduli, breaking strength, stress/strain distributions, and mechanisms of fracture under conditions of AFM nanoindentation experiments. Perfect, defective, and polycrystalline samples are investigated using large-scale molecular dynamics simulations with a screened environment-dependent bond order (SED-REBO) potential. The mechanisms of crack propagation in both perfect and defective samples will also be presented.