Interlayer exciton-polaron in atomically thin semiconductors

TL;DR

This paper predicts a new interlayer polaron quasiparticle in double-layer 2D semiconductors, formed by exciton-phonon interactions, with implications for transport and spectroscopy experiments.

Contribution

It introduces the concept of interlayer polarons in atomically thin semiconductors and analyzes their properties across different coupling regimes.

Findings

Interlayer polarons are predicted to form due to exciton-phonon interactions.

Energy and effective mass of polarons are calculated for weak and strong coupling.

Potential experimental signatures in transport and spectroscopy are discussed.

Abstract

A novel type of exciton-phonon bound state -- interlayer polaron -- in a double-layer two-dimensional semiconductor with transition metal dichalcogenides as an example, is predicted. In these systems the interaction of the interlayer exciton with the soft modes of out-of-plane lattice vibrations caused by van der Waals forces and flexural rigidity gives rise to a bound quasiparticle. The energy and effective mass of the formed polaron for weak and strong exciton-phonon coupling regimes are calculated and analyzed. Possible manifestations of these effects in transport- and spectroscopy-related experiments are discussed.