High circular polarization in electroluminescence from MoSe₂

The coupling between the valley degree of freedom and the optical helicity is one of the unique phenomena in transition metal dichalcogenides. The significant valley polarization evaluated from circularly polarized photoluminescence (PL) has been reported in many transition metal dichalcogenides, except in MoSe₂. This compound is an anomalous material showing ultra-fast relaxation of the valley polarized states, which causes negligible polarization in the PL. Meanwhile, circularly polarized electroluminescence (EL) has been recently reported in a WSe₂ light-emitting transistor, providing another method for using the valley degree of freedom. Here, we report the EL properties of MoSe₂, demonstrating electrical switching of the optical helicity. Importantly, we observed high circular polarization reaching 66%. The results imply that the dominant mechanism of circularly polarized EL is robust against intervalley scattering, in marked contrast to the PL.