Anisotropic Collective Charge Excitations in Quasimetallic 2D Transition-Metal Dichalcogenides

Adv Sci (Weinh). 2020 Apr 16;7(10):1902726. doi: 10.1002/advs.201902726. eCollection 2020 May.

Abstract

The quasimetallic 1T' phase 2D transition-metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) consist of 1D zigzag metal chains stacked periodically along a single axis. This gives rise to its prominent physical properties which promises the onset of novel physical phenomena and applications. Here, the in-plane electronic correlations are explored, and new mid-infrared plasmon excitations in 1T' phase monolayer WSe2 and MoS2 are observed using optical spectroscopies. Based on an extensive first-principles study which analyzes the charge dynamics across multiple axes of the atomic-layered systems, the collective charge excitations are found to disperse only along the direction perpendicular to the chains. Further analysis reveals that the interchain long-range coupling is responsible for the coherent 1D charge dynamics and the spin-orbit coupling affects the plasmon frequency. Detailed investigation of these charge collective modes in 2D-chained systems offers opportunities for novel device applications and has implications for the underlying mechanism that governs superconductivity in 2D TMD systems.

Keywords: anisotropic charge dynamics; phase transitions; plasmons; spectroscopic ellipsometry; transition‐metal dichalcogenides.