Multiwall nanotubes of molybdenum disulfide as optical resonators

TL;DR

This paper investigates MoS₂ nanotubes as optical resonators, revealing their potential for polarization-sensitive nanophotonic applications through experimental and theoretical analysis of whispering gallery modes.

Contribution

It introduces a model for MoS₂ nanotubes acting as optical resonators and demonstrates their use in estimating wall width via photoluminescence resonances.

Findings

Strong polarization-dependent peaks in micro-PL spectra

Resonances correspond to whispering gallery modes

Method for contactless wall width estimation

Abstract

We study the optical properties of MoS$_2$ nanotubes (NTs) with walls comprising dozens of monolayers. We reveal strong peaks in micro-photoluminescence ($\mu$-PL) spectra when detecting the light polarized along the NT axis. We develop a model describing the optical properties of the nanotubes acting as optical resonators which support the quantization of whispering gallery modes inside the NT wall. The experimental observation of the resonances in $\mu$-PL allows one to use them as a contactless method of the estimation of the wall width. Our findings open a way to use such NTs as polarization-sensitive components of nanophotonic devices.