# Tunable Electronic Structure in Gallium Chalcogenide van der Waals Compounds

## TL;DR

This study investigates how the electronic structure of gallium chalcogenide van der Waals compounds can be tuned through chemical composition and surface modifications, revealing potential for customizable 2D electronic materials.

## Contribution

It demonstrates the ability to modify the electronic properties of GaSe via potassium doping and alloying with sulfur, including phase transitions and band gap tuning, while preserving key electronic features.

## Key findings

- Potassium decouples the top tetra-layer, altering valence band dispersion.
- Alloying with sulfur induces a phase transition from AB to AA' stacking.
- Band gap increases with sulfur alloying without significantly changing VBM dispersion.

## Abstract

Transition metal monochalcogenides comprise a class of two-dimensional materials with electronic band gaps that are highly sensitive to material thickness and chemical composition. Here, we explore the tunability of the electronic excitation spectrum in GaSe using angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy. The electronic structure of the material is modified by $\textit{in-situ}$ potassium deposition as well as by forming GaS$_{x}$Se$_{1-x}$ alloy compounds. We find that potassium decouples the top-most tetra-layer of the GaSe unit cell, leading to a substantial change of the dispersion around the valence band maximum (VBM). The observed band dispersion of a single tetralayer is consistent with a transition from the direct gap character of the bulk to the indirect gap character expected for monolayer GaSe. Upon alloying with sulfur, we observe a phase transition from AB to $\text{AA}^{\prime}$ stacking. Alloying also results in a rigid energy shift of the VBM towards higher binding energies which correlates with a blue shift in the luminescence. The increase of the band gap upon sulfur alloying does not appear to change the dispersion or character of the VBM appreciably, implying that it is possible to engineer the gap of these materials while maintaining their salient electronic properties.