Electron–hole liquid in a van der Waals heterostructure photocell at room temperature

Arp, Trevor B.; Pleskot, Dennis; Aji, Vivek; Gabor, Nathaniel M.

doi:10.1038/s41566-019-0349-y

Title: Electron–hole liquid in a van der Waals heterostructure photocell at room temperature

Journal Article · Mon Feb 04 00:00:00 EST 2019 · Nature Photonics

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41566-019-0349-y· OSTI ID:1566619

;

; Aji, Vivek;

In semiconductors, photo-excited charge carriers exist as a gas of electrons and holes, bound electron–hole pairs (excitons), biexcitons and trions. At sufficiently high densities, the non-equilibrium system of electrons (e-) and holes (h⁺) may merge into an electronic liquid droplet. Here, we report on the electron–hole liquid in ultrathin MoTe2 photocells revealed through multi-parameter dynamic photoresponse microscopy (MPDPM). By combining rich visualization with comprehensive analysis of very large data sets acquired through MPDPM, we find that ultrafast laser excitation at a graphene–MoTe₂–graphene interface leads to the abrupt formation of ring-like spatial patterns in the photocurrent response as a function of increasing optical power at T = 297 K. The sudden onset to these patterns, together with extreme sublinear power dependence and picosecond-scale photocurrent dynamics, provide strong evidence for the formation of a two-dimensional electron–hole liquid droplet. The electron–hole liquid, which features a macroscopic population of correlated electrons and holes, may offer a path to room-temperature optoelectronic devices that harness collective electronic phenomena.

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Research Organization:: Energy Frontier Research Centers (EFRC) (United States). Spins and Heat in Nanoscale Electronic Systems (SHINES); Univ. of California, Riverside, CA (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES)

DOE Contract Number:: SC0012670

OSTI ID:: 1566619

Journal Information:: Nature Photonics, Vol. 13, Issue 4; ISSN 1749-4885

Publisher:: Nature Publishing Group

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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