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A promising route for the development of opto-electronic technology is to use terahertz radiation to modulate the optical properties of semiconductors. Here, we demonstrate the dynamical control of photoluminescence (PL) emission in few-layer InSe using picosecond terahertz pulses. We observe a strong PL quenching (up to 50%) after the arrival of the terahertz pulse followed by a reversible recovery of the emission on the timescale of 50 ps at T = 10 K. Microscopic calculations reveal that the origin of the photoluminescence quenching is the terahertz absorption by photo-excited carriers: this leads to a heating of the carriers and a broadening of their distribution, which reduces the probability of bimolecular electron-hole recombination and, therefore, the luminescence. By numerically evaluating the Boltzmann equation, we are able to clarify the individual roles of optical and acoustic phonons in the subsequent cooling process. The same PL quenching mechanism is expected in other van der Waals semiconductors, and the effect will be particularly strong for materials with low carrier masses and long carrier relaxation time, which is the case for InSe. This work gives a solid background for the development of opto-electronic applications based on InSe, such as THz detectors and optical modulators.

We demonstrate that spin-orbit coupling (SOC) strength for electrons near the conduction band edge in few-layer γ-InSe films can be tuned over a wide range. This tunability is the result of a competition between film-thickness-dependent intrinsic and electric-field-induced SOC, potentially, allowing for electrically switchable spintronic devices. Using a hybrid k · p tight-binding model, fully parameterized with the help of density functional theory computations, we quantify SOC strength for various geometries of InSe-based field-effect transistors. The theoretically computed SOC strengths are compared with the results of weak antilocalization measurements on dual-gated multilayer InSe films, interpreted in terms of Dyakonov-Perel spin relaxation due to SOC, showing a good agreement between theory and experiment.

The temperature effect on the Raman scattering efficiency is investigated in ?-GaSe and ?-InSe crystals. We found that varying the temperature over a broad range from 5 to 350 K permits to achieve both the resonant conditions and the antiresonance behaviour in Raman scattering of the studied materials. The resonant conditions of Raman scattering are observed at about 270 K under the 1.96 eV excitation for GaSe due to the energy proximity of the optical band gap. In the case of InSe, the resonant Raman spectra are apparent at about 50 and 270 K under correspondingly the 2.41 eV and 2.54 eV excitations as a result of the energy proximity of the so-called B transition. Interestingly, the observed resonances for both materials are followed by an antiresonance behaviour noticeable at higher temperatures than the detected resonances. The significant variations of phonon-modes intensities can be explained in terms of electron-phonon coupling and quantum interference of contributions from different points of the Brillouin zone. Two-dimensional (2D) van der Waals crystals have recently attracted considerable attention due to their unique electronic band structure and functionalities 1,2. The main focus of researchers has been on semiconducting transition metal dichalcogenides (S-TMDs), e.g. MoS 2 , WSe 2 , and MoTe 2 3,4. Currently, another much larger group of layered materials, i.e. semiconducting post-transition metal chalcogenides (S-PTMCs), e.g. SnS, GaS, InSe, and GaTe, has drawn the attention of the 2D community. Among these crystals, Se-based compounds of S-PTMCs, i.e. InSe and GaSe, demonstrate a tunability of their optical response from the near infrared to the visible spectrum with decreasing layer thickness down to monolayers 5-7. Raman scattering (RS) spectroscopy is a powerful and nondestructive tool to get useful information about material properties 8. The RS measurements provide an insight into their vibrational and electronic structures and are of particular importance in studies of layered materials 9. The flake thickness, strain, stability, charge transfer, stoichiometry, and stacking orders of the layers can be accessed by monitoring parameters of the observed pho-non modes 10-17. RS experiments can be performed under non-resonant and resonant excitation conditions: 18. The resonant excitation may lead to a significant enhancement of the RS intensity in S-TMD as well as the activation of otherwise inactive modes. This offers supplementary information on the coupling of particular phonons to electronic transitions of a specific symmetry 19-21. The crossover between the non-resonant and resonant conditions can be achieved not only by the variation of the excitation energy but also by the modulation of temperature as it was recently reported 22-24. In such an approach, it is the band structure that changes with temperature allowing for resonance with particular excitation energy. In this work, we present a comprehensive investigation of the effect of temperature on the Raman scattering in ?-GaSe and ?-InSe crystals. It has been found that the intensity of some phonon modes exhibits a strong variation as a function of temperature under excitation with specific energy due to the resonant conditions of RS. Moreover, a significant antiresonance behaviour accompanies the resonances at higher temperatures, which leads to the vanishing of the modes intensities. The observed effects are discussed in terms of electron-phonon coupling and quantum interference of contributions from different points of the Brillouin zone (BZ).

We study the optical properties of thin flakes of InSe encapsulated in hexagonal boron nitride. Mores pecifically, we investigate the photoluminescence (PL) emission and its dependence on sample thickness and temperature. Through the analysis of the PL line shape, we discuss the relative weights of the exciton and electron-hole contributions. Thereafter we investigate the PL dynamics. Two contributions are distinguishable at low temperature: direct band-gap electron-hole and defect-assisted recombination. The two recombination processes have lifetimes ofτ1∼8ns andτ2∼100 ns, respectively. The relative weights of the direct band-gap and defect-assisted contributions show a strong layer dependence due to the direct-to-indirect band-gap crossover. Electron-hole PL lifetime is limited by population transfer to lower-energy states and no dependence on the number of layers was observed. The lifetime of the defect-assisted recombination gets longer for thinner samples. Finally, we show that the PL lifetime decreases at high temperatures as a consequence of more efficient nonradiative recombinations.

International audience; Terahertz (THz) and sub-THz coherent acoustic phonons have been successfully used as probes of various quantum systems. Since their wavelength is in the nanometer range, they can probe nanostructures buried below a surface with nanometer resolution and enable control of electrical and optical properties on a picosecond time scale. However, coherent acoustic phonons have not yet been widely used to study van der Waals (vdW) two-dimensional (2D) materials and heterostructures. This class of 2D systems features strong covalent bonding of atoms in the layer planes and weak van der Waals attraction between the layers. The dynamical properties of the interface between the layers or between a layer and its supporting substrate are often omitted as they are difficult to probe. On the other hand, these play a crucial role in interpreting experiments and/or designing new device structures. Here, we use picosecond ultrasonic techniques to investigate phonon transport in vdW InSe nanolayers and InSe/hBN heterostructures. Coherent acoustic phonons are generated and detected in these 2D systems and allow us to probe elastic parameters of different layers and their interfaces. In particular, our study of the elastic properties of the interface between vdW layers reveals a strong coupling over a wide range of frequencies up to 0.1 THz, offering prospects for high-frequency electronics and technologies that require control over the charge and phonon transport across an interface. In contrast, we reveal a weak coupling between the InSe nanolayers and sapphire substrates, relevant in thermoelectrics and sensing applications, which can require quasi-suspended layers.

We investigated the photoelectrical properties of the heterojunctions p-GaTe – n-InSe fabricated by the method of mechanical contact of GaTe oxidized plate with van der Waals surface of InSe. The AFM-images revealed that there was formed thin oxide dielectric layer of Ga2O3 on the heterointerface p-GaTe – n-InSe. The energy band diagram was constructed. It was established that the p-GaTe – n-InSe heterojunction is photosensitive in the spectral range 0.74 - 1.0 µm. Key words: InSe, GaTe, layered crystals, heterojunction, AFM-images spectral characteristics., Досліджені фотоелектричні властивості гетеропереходів p-GaTe – n-InSe, що сформовані методом механічного контакту окисленої пластини GaTe з ван-дер-ваальсовою поверхнею InSe. За допомогою АСМ-зображень встановлено, що на гетерограниці p-GaTe – n-InSe присутній тонкий діелектричний шар власного оксиду Ga2O3. Побудована енергетична зонна діаграма гетеропереходу. Встановлено, що гетероперехід p-GaTe – n-InSe володіє фоточутливістю в діапазоні 0,74 - 1,0 мкм.Ключові слова: InSe, GaTe, шаруваті кристали, гетеропереходи, АСМ-зображення, спектральні характеристики.