Nature Communications (Jun 2024)

Quantum coherence and interference of a single moiré exciton in nano-fabricated twisted monolayer semiconductor heterobilayers

  • Haonan Wang,
  • Heejun Kim,
  • Duanfei Dong,
  • Keisuke Shinokita,
  • Kenji Watanabe,
  • Takashi Taniguchi,
  • Kazunari Matsuda

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-48623-4
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 15, no. 1
pp. 1 – 9

Abstract

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Abstract The moiré potential serves as a periodic quantum confinement for optically generated excitons, creating spatially ordered zero-dimensional quantum systems. However, a broad emission spectrum resulting from inhomogeneity among moiré potentials hinders the investigation of their intrinsic properties. In this study, we demonstrated a method for the optical observation of quantum coherence and interference of a single moiré exciton in a twisted semiconducting heterobilayer beyond the diffraction limit of light. We observed a single and sharp photoluminescence peak from a single moiré exciton following nanofabrication. Our findings revealed the extended duration of quantum coherence in a single moiré exciton, persisting beyond 10 ps, and an accelerated decoherence process with increasing temperature and excitation power density. Moreover, quantum interference experiments revealed the coupling between moiré excitons in different moiré potential minima. The observed quantum coherence and interference of moiré exciton will facilitate potential applications of moiré quantum systems in quantum technologies.