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Strained Monolayer MoTe2 as a Photon Absorber in the Telecom Range.
Muhammad Sufyan Ramzan1, Caterina Cocchi1,2
1Institut für Physik, Carl von Ossietzky Universität, 26129 Oldenburg, Germany.
Nanomaterials (Basel, Switzerland)
|October 27, 2023
Summary
Uniaxial strain significantly alters monolayer MoTe2 electronic and optical properties. Tensile strain causes a direct-to-indirect band gap transition, while compressive strain can induce a semiconductor-to-metal transition, enabling tunable photon absorption.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Condensed Matter Physics
- Computational Nanoscience
Background:
- Atomistic control of 2D materials is crucial for advanced technologies like valleytronics and spintronics.
- Understanding structure-property relationships in materials like MoTe2 is essential for their application.
Purpose of the Study:
- To systematically analyze the impact of uniaxial strain on the electronic and optical properties of monolayer MoTe2.
- To investigate strain-induced changes in band gap, band dispersion, frontier states, and charge distribution.
Main Methods:
- Density-functional theory (DFT) calculations were employed.
- A strain range of ±10% was applied along armchair and zigzag directions.
- Ab initio calculations using many-body perturbation theory were performed for optical absorption.
Main Results:
- Tensile strain (>7%) induces a direct-to-indirect band gap transition in MoTe2.
- Compressive strain along the zigzag direction (>8%) leads to a semiconductor-to-metal transition.
- Strain direction critically influences band gap characteristics and wave function distribution.
Conclusions:
- Monolayer MoTe2 exhibits tunable electronic and optical properties under uniaxial strain.
- Strained MoTe2 can absorb telecom-range radiation, suggesting potential as a tunable photon absorber.
