Tuning nanowire lasers via hybridization with two-dimensional materials

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates how hybridizing ZnO nanowires with MoS2 monolayers allows precise control of lasing wavelengths at the nanoscale through deterministic fabrication, carrier transfer, and band gap modulation.

Contribution

It introduces a novel deterministic fabrication method for hybrid nanostructures and shows how hybridization can tune lasing properties without degrading nanowire optical quality.

Findings

Lasing wavelength can be tuned by several nanometers.

Deterministic fabrication preserves optical properties.

Carrier transfer causes spectral shifts via Moss-Burstein effect.

Abstract

Mixed dimensional hybrid structures have recently gained increasing attention as promising building blocks for novel electronic and optoelectronic devices. In this context, hybridization of semiconductor nanowires with two-dimensional materials could offer new ways to control and modulate lasing at the nanoscale. In this work, we deterministically fabricate hybrid mixed-dimensional heterostructures composed of ZnO nanowires and MoS2 monolayers with micrometer control over their relative position. First, we show that our deterministic fabrication method does not degrade the optical properties of the ZnO nanowires. Second, we demonstrate that the lasing wavelength of ZnO nanowires can be tuned by several nanometers by hybridization with CVD-grown MoS2 monolayers. We assign this spectral shift of the lasing modes to an efficient carrier transfer at the heterointerface and the subsequent increase of the optical band gap in ZnO (Moss-Burstein effect).