Optical Valley Hall Effect of 2D Excitons in Hyperbolic Metamaterial

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates an optical valley Hall effect in monolayer WS2 coupled with hyperbolic metamaterials, enabling directional excitonic emission and potential room-temperature valleytronic devices.

Contribution

It introduces the first observation of optical valley Hall effect mediated by hyperbolic metamaterials without nanostructuring, combining experimental results with theoretical modeling.

Findings

Directional emission of valley-polarized excitons observed

Coupling to hyperbolic metamaterials enhances valley-dependent emission

Potential for room-temperature valleytronic devices demonstrated

Abstract

The robust spin and momentum valley locking of electrons in two-dimensional semiconductors make the valley degree of freedom of great utility for functional optoelectronic devices. Owing to the difference in optical selection rules for the different valleys, these valley electrons can be addressed optically. The electrons and excitons in these materials exhibit valley Hall effect, where the carriers from specific valleys are directed to different directions under electrical or thermal bias. Here we report the optical valley Hall effect where the light emission from the valley polarized excitons in monolayer WS2 propagates in different directions owing to the preferential coupling of excitonic emission to the high momentum states of the hyperbolic metamaterial. The experimentally observed effects are corroborated with theoretical modeling of excitonic emission in the near field of hyperbolic media. The demonstration of the optical valley Hall effect using a bulk artificial photonic media without the need for nanostructuring opens the possibility of realizing valley-based excitonic circuits operating at room temperature.