Optical Properties and Photocarrier Dynamics of Bi2O2Se Monolayer and Nanoplates

Abstract A comprehensive experimental study on optical properties and photocarrier dynamics in Bi 2 O 2 Se monolayers and nanoplates is presented. Large and uniform Bi 2 O 2 Se nanoplates with various thicknesses down to the monolayer limit are fabricated. In nanoplates, a direct optical transition near 720 nm is identified by optical transmission, photoluminescence, and transient absorption spectroscopic measurements and is attributed to the transition between the valence and conduction bands in the Γ valley. Time‐resolved differential reflection measurements reveal ultrafast carrier thermalization and energy relaxation processes and a photocarrier recombination lifetime of about 200 ps in nanoplates. Furthermore, by spatially resolving the differential reflection signal, a photocarrier diffusion coefficient of about 4.8 cm 2 s −1 is obtained, corresponding to a mobility of about 180 cm 2 V −1 s −1 . A similar direct transition is also observed in monolayer Bi 2 O 2 Se, suggesting that the states in the Γ valley do not change significantly with the thickness. The temporal dynamics of the excitons in the monolayer is quite different from the nanoplates, with a strong saturation effect and fast exciton–exciton annihilation at high densities. Spatially and temporally resolved measurements yield an exciton diffusion coefficient of about 20 cm 2 s −1 .