Electrically tunable circular photocurrent via local-field induced symmetry breaking at a metal-MoTe2 interface

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates a voltage-tunable circular photocurrent at a gold-MoTe2 interface, caused by local-field induced symmetry breaking, enabling new optoelectronic and valleytronic device functionalities.

Contribution

It reveals how local electric fields at a metal-TMDC interface can generate and control circular photocurrents through symmetry breaking, with first-principles insights into band spin splitting.

Findings

Circular photocurrent observed at the interface under normal incidence.

External bias enables continuous modulation of the photocurrent.

First-principles calculations show spin splitting and valley-dependent spin orderings.

Abstract

Transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) constitute a promising platform for symmetry-engineered responses to circularly polarized light. The high crystal symmetry of centrosymmetric 2H-phase TMDCs inherently forbids the circular photogalvanic effect, thereby necessitating external stimuli such as electric fields or strain to lower the symmetry for its activation. While Schottky junctions provide a ubiquitous built-in field for potentially inducing circular photocurrents, the mechanism for the generation and control of circular photocurrents in TMDCs is not understood. In this study, we fabricated a localized gold-MoTe2 heterostructure and demonstrate a pronounced circular photocurrent at the interface under normal incidence. The photocurrent is attributed to circular photogalvanic effect governed by the strength and direction of the built-in electric field, enabling continuous modulation via an external bias. First-principles calculations show that the gold interface induces a spin splitting in the valence bands of MoTe2, establishing a valley-dependent spin ordering. The observed circular photocurrent from multilayer 2H-MoTe2 under normal incidence indicates the breaking of C3 rotational symmetry by the local in-plane field. These results establish an effective strategy for developing voltage-tunable circularly polarized photodetectors and valleytronic devices.