K-Λ crossover transition in the conduction band of monolayer MoS₂ under hydrostatic pressure

Monolayer MoS₂ is a promising material for optoelectronics applications owing to its direct bandgap, enhanced Coulomb interaction, strong spin-orbit coupling, unique valley pseudospin degree of freedom, etc. It can also be implemented for novel spintronics and valleytronics devices at atomic scale. The band structure of monolayer MoS₂ is well known to have a direct gap at K (K') point, whereas the second lowest conduction band minimum is located at Λ point, which may interact with the valence band maximum at K point, to make an indirect optical bandgap transition. We experimentally demonstrate the direct-to-indirect bandgap transition by measuring the photoluminescence spectra of monolayer MoS₂ under hydrostatic pressure at room temperature. With increasing pressure, the direct transition shifts at a rate of 49.4 meV/GPa, whereas the indirect transition shifts at a rate of -15.3 meV/GPa. We experimentally extract the critical transition point at the pressure of 1.9 GPa, in agreement with first-principles calculations. Combining our experimental observation with first-principles calculations, we confirm that this transition is caused by the K-Λ crossover in the conduction band.