Strong Coupling in 2D materials with gold nanoparticles

Two-Dimensional (2D) transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) have recently been studied as promising materials with tunable optoelectronic properties. Here we used scanning probe microscopic techniques and optical spectroscopy to observe strong coupling in hybrid systems using gold nano-particles (AuNPs) in 2D materials such as MoS2 and WS2 nano-layer materials and lateral heterostructures. Surface morphology and contact potential difference have been measured using atomic force microscopy (AFM) and Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM) providing correlated nanoscale information. Tip-enhanced PL (TEPL) maps of the aggregated AuNPs showed large Rabi splitting under ambient conditions. Our result may be used in various applications such as nano-optoelectronics, quantum computers and biosensing.