Manipulation of a Flickering Moiré Trion in a Transition Metal Dichalcogenide Heterobilayer

Abstract

Stochastic interlayer charge transfer in two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD) heterostructures drives random switching of charge states and consequently leads to fluorescence blinking. Rational manipulation of the stochastic interlayer charge transfer remains challenging so far. Herein, we harness periodic moiré potentials in WS₂/MoS₂ heterostructures to confine the stochastic interlayer transferred carriers in moiré minibands. Specifically, the combination of confined charges and intralayer neutral excitons of WS₂ generates flickering moiré trions. The binding energy of moiré trions can be designed by the twist angles of the heterobilayers, while their intensity relies on the region-selective charge transfer channels. We further demonstrate that the stochastic charge transfer and the flickering trions can be optically manipulated by tuning the filling status of moiré potentials at different excitation powers. Our findings provide new avenues for a fundamental understanding of stochastic interlayer charge transfer and feasible strategies to manipulate the excitonic behavior in TMD heterostructures.