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Transition from Optically Excited to Intrinsic Spin Polarization in WSe2

S. Hedwig1, G. Zinke1, J. Braun2, B. Arnoldi1, A. Pulkkinen3, J. Minár3, H. Ebert2, M. Aeschlimann1,*, and B. Stadtmüller4,†

  • *Contact author: ma@physik.uni-kl.de
  • †Contact author: benjamin.stadtmueller@uni-a.de
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Phys. Rev. Lett. 135, 186903 – Published 31 October, 2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/lc2p-kl4y

Abstract

Layered 2D van der Waals materials, such as transition metal dichalcogenides, are promising for nanoscale spintronic and optoelectronic applications. Harnessing their full potential requires understanding both intrinsic transport and the dynamics of optically excited spin and charge carriers, particularly the transition between excited spin polarization and the conduction band’s intrinsic spin texture. Here, we investigate the spin polarization of the conduction bands of bulk WSe2 using static and time-resolved spin-resolved photoemission spectroscopy, complemented by photocurrent calculations. Electron doping reveals the intrinsic spin polarization, while time-resolved measurements trace the evolution of excited spin carriers. We find that intervalley scattering is spin-conserving, with spin transport initially governed by photoexcited carriers and aligning with the intrinsic conduction band spin polarization after ∼150  fs.

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Phys. Rev. Lett. 135, 186903– Published 31 October, 2025
  • Received 3 June 2025
  • Accepted 6 October 2025
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Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article’s title, journal citation, and DOI.

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