Ferroelectric Domain Control of Nonlinear Light Polarization in MoS2 via PbZr0.2 Ti0.8 O3 Thin Films and Free-Standing Membranes

Dawei Li; Xi Huang; Qiuchen Wu; Le Zhang; Yongfeng Lu; Xia Hong

doi:10.1002/adma.202208825

Ferroelectric Domain Control of Nonlinear Light Polarization in MoS₂ via PbZr_0.2 Ti_0.8 O₃ Thin Films and Free-Standing Membranes

Adv Mater. 2023 Mar;35(9):e2208825. doi: 10.1002/adma.202208825. Epub 2022 Dec 30.

Authors

Dawei Li^{1

2}, Xi Huang³, Qiuchen Wu¹, Le Zhang¹, Yongfeng Lu^{3

4}, Xia Hong^{1

4}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, Nebraska, 68588-0299, USA.
² School of Optoelectronic Engineering and Instrumentation Science, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, Liaoning, 116024, China.
³ Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, Nebraska, 68588-0511, USA.
⁴ Nebraska Center for Materials and Nanoscience, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, Nebraska, 68588-0298, USA.

PMID: 36462168
DOI: 10.1002/adma.202208825

Abstract

Two-dimensional (2D) transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) such as MoS₂ exhibit exceptionally strong nonlinear optical responses, while nanoscale control of the amplitude, polar orientation, and phase of the nonlinear light in TMDCs remains challenging. In this work, by interfacing monolayer MoS₂ with epitaxial PbZr_0.2 Ti_0.8 O₃ (PZT) thin films and free-standing PZT membranes, the amplitude and polarization of the second harmonic generation (SHG) signal are modulated via ferroelectric domain patterning, which demonstrates that PZT membranes can lead to in-operando programming of nonlinear light polarization. The interfacial coupling of the MoS₂ polar axis with either the out-of-plane polar domains of PZT or the in-plane polarization of domain walls tailors the SHG light polarization into different patterns with distinct symmetries, which are modeled via nonlinear electromagnetic theory. This study provides a new material platform that enables reconfigurable design of light polarization at the nanoscale, paving the path for developing novel optical information processing, smart light modulators, and integrated photonic circuits.

Keywords: ferroelectric domain patterning; free-standing ferroelectric membranes; light polarization control; second harmonic generation; transition metal dichalcogenide.

Abstract

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