Enhanced light emission from large-area monolayer MoS₂ using plasmonic nanodisc arrays

Single-layer direct band gap semiconductors such as transition metal dichalcogenides are quite attractive for a wide range of electronics, photonics, and optoelectronics applications. Their monolayer thickness provides significant advantages in many applications such as field-effect transistors for high-performance electronics, sensor/detector applications, and flexible electronics. However, for optoelectronics and photonics applications, inherent monolayer thickness poses a significant challenge for the interaction of light with the material, which therefore results in poor light emission and absorption behavior. Here, we demonstrate enhanced light emission from large-area monolayer MoS2 using plasmonic silver nanodisc arrays, where enhanced photoluminescence up to 12-times has been measured. Observed phenomena stem from the fact that plasmonic resonance couples to both excitation and emission fields and thus boosts the light-matter interaction at the nanoscale. Reported results allow us to engineer light-matter interactions in two-dimensional materials and could enable highly efficient photodetectors, sensors, and photovoltaic devices, where photon absorption and emission efficiency highly dictate the device performance.