Search

Moiré superlattices, arising from the controlled twisting of van der Waals homostructures at specific angles, have emerged as a promising platform for quantum emission applications. Concurrently, the manipulation of strain provides a versatile strategy to finely adjust electronic band structures, enhance exciton luminescence efficiency, and establish a robust foundation for twodimensional quantum light sources. However, the intricate interplay between strain and moiré potential remains partially unexplored. Here, we introduce a meticulously designed fusion of strain engineering and the twisted 2L-WSe2/2L-WSe2 homobilayers, resulting in the precise localization of moiré excitons. Employing low-temperature photoluminescence spectroscopy, we unveil the emergence of highly localized moiré-enhanced emission, characterized by the presence of multiple distinct emission lines. Furthermore, our investigation demonstrates the effective regulation of moiré potential depths through strain engineering, with the potential depths of strained and unstrained regions differing by 91%. By combining both experimental and theoretical approaches, our study elucidates the complex relationship between strain and moiré potential, thereby opening avenues for generating strain-induced moiré exciton single-photon sources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Moiré superlattices in van der Waals structures have emerged as a powerful platform for studying the novel quantum properties of two-dimensional materials. The periodic moiré patterns generated by these structures lead to the formation of flat mini-bands, which alter the electronic energy bands of the material. The resulting flat electronic bands can greatly enhance strong correlative interactions between electrons, leading to the emergence of exotic quantum phenomena, including moiré phonons and moiré excitons. While extensive research has been conducted on the exotic quantum phenomena in twisted bilayers of transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs), and the regulatory effect of stacked layers on moiré excitons remains unexplored. In this study, we report the fabrication of a twisted WSe2/WSe2/WSe2 homotrilayer with two twist angles and investigate the influence of stacked layers on moiré excitons. Our experiments reveal multiple moiré exciton splitting peaks in the twisted trilayer, with moiré potential depths of 78 and 112 meV in the bilayer and trilayer homostructures, respectively. We also observed the splitting of the moiré excitons at 90 K, indicating the presence of a deeper moiré potential in the twisted trilayer. Moreover, we demonstrate that stacked layers can tune the moiré excitons by manipulating temperature, laser power, and magnetic field. Our results provide a new physical model for studying moiré superlattices and their quantum properties, which could potentially pave the way for the development of quantum optoelectronics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Singlet fission (SF), a spin-allowed multiexciton generation process, experienced renewed interest in the last decade due to its potential to increase the efficiency of photovoltaic devices. The hurdles now lie in the limited range of SF-capable materials and demanding morphology requirement for an efficient fission process. Although primary fission to yield triplet pair (1TT) can occur independently of film morphology in intramolecular singlet fission (iSF) materials, the separation of the 1TT state has been shown to be highly dependent on the packing motif and morphologies. In this work, we have demonstrated that both iSF and triplet pair separation processes took place irrelevant of molecular order and/or film morphology in a series of pentalene compounds. With the >180% fission efficiency, the suitable triplet energy levels, and the long lifetime of the triplet excitons, these iSF systems can be integrated into practical photovoltaic application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, the discovery of a variety of moiré-related properties in the twisted vertical stacking of two different monolayers has attracted considerable attention. The introduction of small twist angles in transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD) heterostructures leads to the emergence of moiré potentials, which provide a fascinating platform for the study of strong interactions of electrons. While there has been extensive research on moiré excitons in twisted bilayer superlattices, the capture and study of moiré excitons in homostructure superlattices with layer-coupling effects remain elusive. Here, we present the observation of moiré excitons in the twisted 1L-WSe2/1L-WSe2 and 1L-WSe2/2L-WSe2 homostructures with various layer-coupling interactions. The results reveal that the moiré potential increases (~ 260%) as the number of underlying layers decreases, indicating the effect of layer coupling on the modulation of the moiré potential. The effects of the temperature and laser power dependence as well as valley polarization on moiré excitons were further demonstrated, and the crucial spectral features observed were explained. Our findings pave the way for exploring quantum phenomena and related applications of quantum information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent advances in moiré superlattices and moiré excitons, such as quantum emission arrays, low-energy flat bands, and Mott insulators, have rapidly attracted attention in the fields of optoelectronics, materials, and energy research. The interlayer twist turns into a degree of freedom that alters the properties of the systems of materials, and the realization of moiré excitons also offers the feasibility of making artificial exciton crystals. Moreover, moiré excitons exhibit many exciting properties under the regulation of various external conditions, including spatial polarisation, alternating dipolar to alternating dipolar moments and gate-dependence to gate voltage dependence; all are pertinent to their applications in nano-photonics and quantum information. But the lag in theoretical development and the low-efficiency of processing technologies significantly limit the potential of moiré superlattice applications. In this review, we systematically summarise and discuss the recent progress in moiré superlattices and moiré excitons, and analyze the current challenges, and put forward relevant recommendations. There is no doubt that further research will lead to breakthroughs in their application and promote reforms and innovations in traditional solid-state physics and materials science. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The excitonic effects in two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenides and their heterostructures have been extensively investigated. Significantly, the moiré excitons, induced by a moiré superlattice in a twisted heterostructure, have triggered tremendous attention, demonstrating the practicability of artificial excitonic crystals. Besides, recent works have shown that the excitonic states in homostructures also exhibit novel properties worthy of further development. Here, we present a tear-and-stack technique for fabricating a regular or a twisted homostructure. Such a strategy was utilized to reassemble a monolayer WSe2 into a twisted homostructure, and various excitons from this structure have been identified in the photoluminescence spectra. Interestingly, the unusual equidistant splitting was first observed in the defect-bound excitons. It is believed that this phenomenon is attributed to the various defect states and the local stacking patterns. This interpretation is supported by theoretical calculations, which show the dependence of the energy band structure on different defect states and local stacking patterns. These unconventional defect-bound excitons are key building blocks in the research of homostructures that highlight the feasibility of artificially manipulating local excitons for practical applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the field of organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs), research interests focus on making the optically dark triplet excitons shine in order to increase the electro-optic conversion efficiency of devices. In this work, two kinds of phenazine compounds, i.e. dibenzo[a,c]phenazine (DBP) and tribenzo[a,c,i]phenazine (TBP), were synthesized and used as model compounds to regulate the emission efficiency of the dark triplet excitons by chemical modification. Charge-transfer induced ultrafast intersystem crossing (CT-ISC) with a time constant of ∼1 ps was observed for these two phenazine derivatives upon photoexcitation with a high triplet yield of 77.1% for DBP and 58.7% for TBP. The triplet excited states of DBP can produce ultra-long phosphorescence with lifetime as long as 318 ms at 77 K. The quantum yield for phosphorescence (ΦP) is determined to be 8.45%. In sharp contrast, the triplet-excited 3TBP* undergoes an efficient reverse intersystem crossing (RISC) process, resulting in bright delayed fluorescence emission with negligible phosphorescence. A controllable luminescence behavior from the triplet states between fluorescence and phosphorescence in phenazine derivatives is demonstrated. Theoretical calculations reveal that the structure-dependent triplet evolution is due to the charge-transfer induced energy level alignment within these compounds. Our results may have potential applications in the design of OLEDs and high triplet yield pure organic materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The controllable fabrication methods, the unique properties, and relative applications of 2D heterostructures were summarized.The generation and detection of interlayer excitons in 2D heterostructures with type II band alignment indicate a longer lifetime and larger binding energy than intralayer excitons.The advances in magnetic tunneling junctions based on 2D heterostructures can be applied in spintronic devices to realize spin filtering. With a large number of researches being conducted on two-dimensional (2D) materials, their unique properties in optics, electrics, mechanics, and magnetics have attracted increasing attention. Accordingly, the idea of combining distinct functional 2D materials into heterostructures naturally emerged that provides unprecedented platforms for exploring new physics that are not accessible in a single 2D material or 3D heterostructures. Along with the rapid development of controllable, scalable, and programmed synthesis techniques of high-quality 2D heterostructures, various heterostructure devices with extraordinary performance have been designed and fabricated, including tunneling transistors, photodetectors, and spintronic devices. In this review, we present a summary of the latest progresses in fabrications, properties, and applications of different types of 2D heterostructures, followed by the discussions on present challenges and perspectives of further investigations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]