Optically controlled single-valley exciton doublet states with tunable internal spin structures and spin magnetization generation

TL;DR

This paper introduces a new type of optically controllable exciton states in monolayer bismuthene, enabling manipulation of spin structures and magnetization, with potential applications in spintronics and quantum information.

Contribution

It reports the discovery and theoretical analysis of single-valley exciton doublet states in monolayer bismuthene, a novel excitonic state from a single valley with tunable spin configurations.

Findings

Demonstration of SVXD states in monolayer bismuthene

Optical control of spin configurations within a single valley

Generation of controllable net spin magnetization

Abstract

Manipulating quantum states through light-matter interactions has been actively pursued in two-dimensional (2D) materials research. Significant progress has been made towards the optical control of the valley degrees of freedom in semiconducting monolayer transition-metal dichalcogenides (TMD), based on doubly degenerate excitons from their two distinct valleys in reciprocal space. Here, we introduce a novel kind of optically controllable doubly degenerate exciton states that come from a single valley, dubbed as single-valley exciton doublet (SVXD) states. They are unique in that their constituent holes originate from the same valence band, making possible the direct optical control of the spin structure of the excited constituent electrons. Combining ab initio GW plus Bethe-Salpeter equation (GW-BSE) calculations and a newly developed theoretical analysis method, we demonstrate such novel SVXD in substrate-supported monolayer bismuthene -- which has been successfully grown using molecular beam epitaxy. In each of the two distinct valleys in the Brillouin zone, strong spin-orbit coupling and $C_{3v}$ symmetry lead to a pair of degenerate 1s exciton states (the SVXD states) with opposite spin configurations. Any coherent linear combinations of the SVXD in a single valley can be excited by light with a specific polarization, enabling full manipulation of their internal spin configurations. In particular, a controllable net spin magnetization can be generated through light excitation. Our findings open new routes to control quantum degrees of freedom, paving the way for applications in spintronics and quantum information science.