Long-lived spin polarization in n-doped MoSe2 monolayers

• Published in: Applied physics letters Vol. 111; no. 8
• Main Authors: Schwemmer, M., Nagler, P., Hanninger, A., Schüller, C., Korn, T.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Melville American Institute of Physics 21-08-2017
• Subjects: Applied physics; Electron spin; Electrons; Monolayers; Polarization (spin alignment); Spin dynamics
• ISSN: 0003-6951; 1077-3118
• DOI: 10.1063/1.4987000

Transition metal dichalcogenide monolayers are highly interesting for potential valleytronic applications due to the coupling of spin and valley degrees of freedom and valley-selective excitonic transitions. However, ultrafast recombination of excitons in these materials poses a natural limit for applications so that a transfer of polarization to resident carriers is highly advantageous. Here, we study the low-temperature spin-valley dynamics in nominally undoped and n-doped MoSe2 monolayers using time-resolved Kerr rotation. In the n-doped MoSe2, we find a long-lived component of the Kerr signal which we attribute to the spin polarization of resident carriers. This component is absent in the nominally undoped MoSe2. The long-lived spin polarization is stable under applied in-plane magnetic fields. Spatially resolved measurements allow us to determine an upper boundary for the electron spin diffusion constant in MoSe2.