Fabrication and characterizations of MoS2 layers on Au nanogratings (Conference Presentation)

The coupling between surface plasmons (SPs) and excitons in 2D transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD) materials has been attracted growing research attention in recent days. Strong electric field confinement and absorption enhancement could be expected, as a result of the SP-excition couping. We prepared exfoliated flakes of MoS2, a representative TMD material, on Au nanogratings fabricated by electron beam lithography. We studied influences of propagating SP on optical properties of the MoS2 flakes on the Au nanogratings, based on both experimental measurements and numerical calculations. Local surface potential maps of the samples suggested that the strain states in the MoS2 flakes and the dipoles formed at the MoS2/ Au interface could cause spatial modulation of the bandgap energies of the MoS2 flakes. The surface potential measurements were carried out using Kelvin probe force microscopy in dark and under TM/TE-mode light illumination. Band diagrams of the MoS2/Au nanogratings were proposed to explain all the experimental results. This study can help us to understand and control the physical characteristics of the TMD/metal nanostructures.