Abstract
Interfacing nanomechanics with photonics and charge/spin-based electronics has transformed information technology and facilitated fundamental searches for the quantum-to-classical transition1,2,3. Utilizing the electron valley degree of freedom as an information carrier, valleytronics has recently emerged as a promising platform for developments in computation and communication4,5,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16. Here, we realize valley–mechanical coupling in a resonator made of the monolayer semiconductor MoS2 and transduce valley information into mechanical states. The coupling is achieved by exploiting the magnetic moment of valley carriers with a magnetic field gradient. We optically populate the valleys and observe the resulting mechanical actuation using laser interferometry. We are thus able to control the valley–mechanical interaction by adjusting the pump-laser light, the magnetic field gradient and temperature. Our work paves the way for realizing valley-actuated devices and hybrid valley quantum systems.
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The data that support the plots within this paper and other findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
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Acknowledgements
We acknowledge support from the US Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, Materials Sciences and Engineering Division under contract number DEAC02-05-CH11231 (van der Waals Heterostructures Program, KCWF16) for theory, device fabrication and data analysis; from the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Office of Sponsored Research (OSR) under award number OSR-2016-CRG5-2996 for sample preparation; and from the Office of Naval Research (ONR) MURI programme under grant number N00014-13-1-0631 for mechanical design and measurements.
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K.Y.F., H.Z., H.-K.L. and X.Z. conceived the project. H.-K.L. and K.Y.F. designed the experiment and performed the measurement. K.Y.F., H.-K.L., S.W. and S.Y. fabricated the substrate. H.-K.L., Q.L. and S.W. performed the MoS2 transfer. H.-K.L., K.Y.F., H.Z. and X.Z. analysed the data and wrote the manuscript with inputs from all authors. X.Z., Y.W. and S.Y. guided the research.
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Li, HK., Fong, K.Y., Zhu, H. et al. Valley optomechanics in a monolayer semiconductor. Nat. Photonics 13, 397–401 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41566-019-0428-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41566-019-0428-0
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