Lighten the Olympia of the Flatland: Probing and Manipulating the Photonic Properties of 2D Transition-Metal Dichalcogenides

Following the adventures of graphene, 2D transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) have recently seized part of the territory in the flatland. Branched by different components of metals and chalcogenides, the families of 2D TMDs have grown rapidly, in which the semiconductive ones have shown colorful photonic properties. By tuning the atomic components and reducing the thickness or planar size of the layers, one can manipulate the optical performance of 2D TMDs, e.g., the intensity, angular momentum, and frequency of the emitted light, or toward ultrafast nonlinear absorption. As a powerful optical method, the Raman characteristics of 2D TMDs have been successfully used to explore their lattices and electronic structures. Along with the maturing of 2D TMDs, their hybrids play an important role. The unique photonic properties of 2D van der Waals heterostructures and 2D alloys are introduced here. Apart from the group VI TMDs, future prospects are identified to harness the optical properties of other 2D TMDs and the related investigations of their hybrids are underway.