Controlled non-volatile modulation of optical dispersion in monolayer tungsten disulfide via ferroelectric polarization patterning

Abstract

The manipulation of optical properties, including reflection, refraction, polarization, phase, and frequency, has long been central to advancing photonic and optoelectronic technologies. However, existing electro-optical approaches rely on volatile mechanisms that require continuous power consumption. Here, we demonstrate strong, nonvolatile modulation of optical dispersion in monolayer tungsten disulfide (ML WS2) using patterned ferroelectric domains in aluminum scandium nitride (AlScN). By locally poling ferroelectric domains into opposite states, we achieve substantial manipulation of the complex refractive index (Delta n > 0.7, Delta k > 0.4) and excitonic energy shifts (~50 meV) in ML WS2, comparable to previous gate-tuning approaches while eliminating continuous power consumption. We introduce an asymmetric screening model that reveals how ferroelectric polarization induces carrier-density-dependent Coulomb screening, leading to distinct excitonic behaviors between electron- and hole-doped regions. Furthermore, we demonstrate a gate-free lateral p-n homojunction with a rectification ratio of 6e10^3, formed through spatial carrier redistribution. These findings establish ferroelectric/2D heterostructures as a powerful platform for nonvolatile optical dispersion engineering, enabling energy-efficient, reconfigurable photonic and optoelectronic devices.