Non-Additive Optical Response in Transition Metal Dichalcogenides Heterostructures

Van der Waals (vdW) heterostructures pave the way to achieve the desired material properties for a variety of applications. In this way, new scientific and industrial challenges and fundamental questions arise. One of them is whether vdW materials preserve their original optical response when assembled in a heterostructure. Here, we resolve this issue for four exemplary monolayer heterostructures: MoS(2)/Gr, MoS(2)/hBN, WS(2)/Gr, and WS(2)/hBN. Through joint Raman, ellipsometry, and reflectance spectroscopies, we discovered that heterostructures alter MoS(2) and WS(2) optical constants. Furthermore, despite the similarity of MoS(2) and WS(2) monolayers, their behavior in heterostructures is markedly different. While MoS(2) has large changes, particularly above 3 eV, WS(2) experiences modest changes in optical constants. We also detected a transformation from dark into bright exciton for MoS(2)/Gr heterostructure. In summary, our findings provide clear evidence that the optical response of heterostructures is not the sum of optical properties of its constituents.