Spin-orbit coupling in the band structure of monolayer WSe2

We used angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) to map out the band structure of single-layer WSe2. The splitting of the top of the valence band because of spin-orbit coupling is 513 ± 10 meV, in general agreement with theoretical predictions and in the same range as that of bulk WSe2. Overall, our density functional theory (DFT) calculations of the band structure are in excellent agreement with the ARPES results. We have verified that the few discrepancies between theory and experiment are not due to the effect of strain. The differences between the DFT-calculated band structure using local density approximation (LDA) and that using the generalized gradient approximation (GGA), for single-layer WSe2, are caused mainly by differences in the respective charge densities.