Tailoring band gaps in semiconductors is crucial for creating innovative devices, typically done through energetic ion implantation, but 2D materials offer new methods via their sensitivity to surrounding dielectrics.
Researchers have demonstrated significant changes in the exciton binding energy of monolayer WSe by varying the dielectric constant, achieving a reduction of up to 300 meV with increased dielectric values.
The findings correlate well with theoretical predictions from a Mott-Wannier model, and the study suggests that manipulating the dielectric environment could lead to exciton metamaterials through potential-well arrays in 2D materials.