We demonstrate robust optical bistability, the phenomenon of two well-discriminated stable states depending upon the history of the optical input, in fully suspended monolayers of WSe2 at low temperatures near the exciton resonance. Optical bistability has been achieved under continuous-wave optical excitation that is red-detuned from the exciton resonance at an intensity level of 103 W/cm2. The observed bistability is originated from a photothermal mechanism, which provides both optical nonlinearity and passive feedback, two essential elements for optical bistability.

Controlling magnetism by purely electrical means is a key challenge to better information technology 1 . A variety of material systems, including ferromagnetic (FM) metals 2-4, FM semiconductors 5, multiferroics 6-8 and magnetoelectric (ME) materials 9,10, have been explored for the electric-field control of magnetism. The recent discovery of two-dimensional (2D) van der Waals magnets 11,12 has opened a new door for the electrical control of magnetism at the nanometre scale through a van der Waals heterostructure device platform 13 .

We measure the doping dependence of the valley Zeeman splitting of the fundamental optical transitions in monolayer WSe2 under an out-of-plane magnetic field by optical reflection contrast and photoluminescence spectroscopy. A nonlinear valley Zeeman effect, correlated with an over fourfold enhancement in the g factor, is observed. The effect occurs when the Fermi level crosses the spin-split upper conduction band, corresponding to a change of the spin-valley degeneracy from two to four. The enhancement increases and shows no sign of saturation as the sample temperature decreases.

van der Waals heterostructures formed by stacking two-dimensional atomic crystals are a unique platform for exploring new phenomena and functionalities. Interlayer excitons, bound states of spatially separated electron-hole pairs in van der Waals heterostructures, have demonstrated potential for rich valley physics and optoelectronics applications and been proposed to facilitate high-temperature superfluidity. Here, we demonstrate highly tunable interlayer excitons by an out-of-plane electric field in homobilayers of transition metal dichalcogenides.

The magnetoelectric (ME) effect, the phenomenon of inducing magnetization by application of an electric field or vice versa, holds great promise for magnetic sensing and switching applications. Studies of the ME effect have so far focused on the control of the electron spin degree of freedom (DOF) in materials such as multiferroics and conventional semiconductors. Here, we report a new form of the ME effect based on the valley DOF in two-dimensional Dirac materials.

We study the electronic band structure in the K/K′ valleys of the Brillouin zone of monolayer WSe2 and MoSe2 by optical reflection and photoluminescence spectroscopy on dual-gated field-effect devices. Our experiment reveals the distinct spin polarization in the conduction bands of these compounds by a systematic study of the doping dependence of the A and B excitonic resonances. Electrons in the highest-energy valence band and the lowest-energy conduction band have antiparallel spins in monolayer WSe2 and parallel spins in monolayer MoSe2.

Electrons in monolayer transition metal dichalcogenides are characterized by valley and spin quantum degrees of freedom, making it possible to explore new physical phenomena and to foresee novel applications in the fields of electronics and optoelectronics. Theoretical proposals further suggest that Berry curvature effects, together with strong spin-orbit interactions, can generate unconventional Landau levels (LLs) under a perpendicular magnetic field. In particular, these would support valley- and spin-polarized chiral edge states in the quantum Hall regime.

Recent experimental advances in atomically thin transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD) metals have unveiled a range of interesting phenomena including the coexistence of charge-density-wave (CDW) order and superconductivity down to the monolayer limit. The atomic thickness of two-dimensional (2D) TMD metals also opens up the possibility for control of these electronic phase transitions by electrostatic gating. Here, we demonstrate reversible tuning of superconductivity and CDW order in model 2D TMD metal NbSe2 by an ionic liquid gate.