Controllable Plexcitonic Coupling in a WS₂-Ag Nanocavity with Solvents

Strong coupling between emitters and cavities underlies many of the current strategies aiming at generating and controlling quantum states at room temperature. Recent experiments reveal strong coupling between two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) and individual plasmonic structures; however, the coupling strength is quite limited (<200 meV), and the active control of the coupling strength is challenging. Here, we demonstrate the active tuning of plexcitonic coupling in monolayer WS₂ coupled to a plasmonic nanocavity by immersing into a mixed solution of dichloromethane (DCM) and ethanol. By adjusting the mixture ratio, continuous tuning of the Rabi splitting energy ranged from 183 meV (in ethanol) to 273 meV (in DCM) is achieved. The results are mainly attributed to the remarkable increase of the neutral exciton density in monolayer WS₂ as the concentration of DCM is increased. It offers an important stepping stone toward a further study on plexcitonic coupling in layered materials, along with potential applications in quantum information processing and nonlinear optical materials.