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Title: Electrically tunable excitonic light-emitting diodes based on monolayer WSe2 p–n junctions

Abstract

The development of light-emitting diodes with improved efficiency, spectral properties, compactness and integrability is important for lighting, display, optical interconnect, logic and sensor applications1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. Monolayer transition-metal dichalcogenides have recently emerged as interesting candidates for optoelectronic applications due to their unique optical properties9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16. Electroluminescence has already been observed from monolayer MoS2 devices17, 18. However, the electroluminescence efficiency was low and the linewidth broad due both to the poor optical quality of the MoS2 and to ineffective contacts. Here, we report electroluminescence from lateral p–n junctions in monolayer WSe2 induced electrostatically using a thin boron nitride support as a dielectric layer with multiple metal gates beneath. This structure allows effective injection of electrons and holes, and, combined with the high optical quality of WSe2, yields bright electroluminescence with 1,000 times smaller injection current and 10 times smaller linewidth than in MoS2 (refs 17,18). Furthermore, by increasing the injection bias we can tune the electroluminescence between regimes of impurity-bound, charged and neutral excitons. This system has the required ingredients for new types of optoelectronic device, such as spin- and valley-polarized light-emitting diodes, on-chip lasers and two-dimensional electro-optic modulators.

Authors:
; ; ORCiD logo; ; ; ; ; ; ; ORCiD logo; ORCiD logo; ORCiD logo
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE Office of Science (SC)
OSTI Identifier:
1122708
DOE Contract Number:  
DE-AC05-00OR22725
Resource Type:
Journal Article
Journal Name:
Nature Nanotechnology
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 9; Journal Issue: 4; Journal ID: ISSN 1748-3387
Publisher:
Nature Publishing Group
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
36 MATERIALS SCIENCE; 37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY; inorganic LEDs; nanophotonics and plasmonics; two-dimensional materials

Citation Formats

Ross, Jason S., Klement, Philip, Jones, Aaron M., Ghimire, Nirmal J., Yan, Jiaqiang, Mandrus, D. G., Taniguchi, Takashi, Watanabe, Kenji, Kitamura, Kenji, Yao, Wang, Cobden, David H., and Xu, Xiaodong. Electrically tunable excitonic light-emitting diodes based on monolayer WSe2 p–n junctions. United States: N. p., 2014. Web. doi:10.1038/nnano.2014.26.
Ross, Jason S., Klement, Philip, Jones, Aaron M., Ghimire, Nirmal J., Yan, Jiaqiang, Mandrus, D. G., Taniguchi, Takashi, Watanabe, Kenji, Kitamura, Kenji, Yao, Wang, Cobden, David H., & Xu, Xiaodong. Electrically tunable excitonic light-emitting diodes based on monolayer WSe2 p–n junctions. United States. https://doi.org/10.1038/nnano.2014.26
Ross, Jason S., Klement, Philip, Jones, Aaron M., Ghimire, Nirmal J., Yan, Jiaqiang, Mandrus, D. G., Taniguchi, Takashi, Watanabe, Kenji, Kitamura, Kenji, Yao, Wang, Cobden, David H., and Xu, Xiaodong. 2014. "Electrically tunable excitonic light-emitting diodes based on monolayer WSe2 p–n junctions". United States. https://doi.org/10.1038/nnano.2014.26.
@article{osti_1122708,
title = {Electrically tunable excitonic light-emitting diodes based on monolayer WSe2 p–n junctions},
author = {Ross, Jason S. and Klement, Philip and Jones, Aaron M. and Ghimire, Nirmal J. and Yan, Jiaqiang and Mandrus, D. G. and Taniguchi, Takashi and Watanabe, Kenji and Kitamura, Kenji and Yao, Wang and Cobden, David H. and Xu, Xiaodong},
abstractNote = {The development of light-emitting diodes with improved efficiency, spectral properties, compactness and integrability is important for lighting, display, optical interconnect, logic and sensor applications1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. Monolayer transition-metal dichalcogenides have recently emerged as interesting candidates for optoelectronic applications due to their unique optical properties9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16. Electroluminescence has already been observed from monolayer MoS2 devices17, 18. However, the electroluminescence efficiency was low and the linewidth broad due both to the poor optical quality of the MoS2 and to ineffective contacts. Here, we report electroluminescence from lateral p–n junctions in monolayer WSe2 induced electrostatically using a thin boron nitride support as a dielectric layer with multiple metal gates beneath. This structure allows effective injection of electrons and holes, and, combined with the high optical quality of WSe2, yields bright electroluminescence with 1,000 times smaller injection current and 10 times smaller linewidth than in MoS2 (refs 17,18). Furthermore, by increasing the injection bias we can tune the electroluminescence between regimes of impurity-bound, charged and neutral excitons. This system has the required ingredients for new types of optoelectronic device, such as spin- and valley-polarized light-emitting diodes, on-chip lasers and two-dimensional electro-optic modulators.},
doi = {10.1038/nnano.2014.26},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1122708}, journal = {Nature Nanotechnology},
issn = {1748-3387},
number = 4,
volume = 9,
place = {United States},
year = {Sun Mar 09 00:00:00 EST 2014},
month = {Sun Mar 09 00:00:00 EST 2014}
}