Revealing the origin of PL evolution of InSe flake induced by laser irradiation

Two-dimensional InSe has been considered as a promising candidate for novel optoelectronic devices owing to large electron mobility and a near-infrared optical band gap. However, its widespread applications suffer from environmental instability. A lot of theoretical studies on the degradation mechanism of InSe have been reported whereas the experimental proofs are few. Meanwhile, the role of the extrinsic environment is still obscure during the degradation. As a common technique of studying the degradation mechanism of 2D materials, laser irradiation exhibits many unique advantages, such as being fast, convenient, and offering in situ compatibility. Here, we have developed a laser-treated method, which involves performing repeated measurements at the same point while monitoring the evolution of the resulting PL, to systematically study the photo-induced degradation process of InSe. Interestingly, we observe different evolution behavior of PL intensity under weak irradiation and strong irradiation. Our experimental results indicate the vacancy passivation and degrading effect simultaneously occurring in InSe under a weak laser irradiation, resulting in the PL increasing first and then decreasing during the measurement. Meanwhile we also notice that the passivation has a stronger effect on the PL than the degrading effect of weak oxidation. In contrast, under a strong laser irradiation, the InSe suffers serious destruction caused by excess heating and intense oxidation. This leads to a direct decrease of PL and corresponding oxidative products. Our work provides a reliable experimental supplement to the photo oxidation study of InSe and opens up a new avenue to regulate the PL of InSe.