Terahertz optical Hall effect in p-type monolayer hexagonal boron nitride on fused silica substrate.

Abstract

We demonstrate for the first time, to the best of our knowledge, that the optical Hall effect (OHE) can be observed in p-type monolayer (ML) hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) on a fused silica substrate by applying linearly polarized terahertz (THz) irradiation. When ML hBN is placed on fused silica, in which the incident pulsed THz field can create local and transient electromagnetic dipoles, proximity-induced interactions can be presented. The Rashba spin-orbit coupling can be enhanced, and the in-plane spin component can be induced, along with the lifting of valley degeneracy. Thus, in the presence of linearly polarized THz radiation, the nonzero transverse optical conductivity (or Hall conductivity) can be observed. We measure the THz transmission through ML hBN/fused silica in the temperature range from 80 to 280 K by using THz time-domain spectroscopy in combination with an optical polarization examination. The Faraday ellipticity and rotation angle, together with the complex longitudinal and transverse conductivities, are obtained. The temperature dependence of these quantities is examined. The results obtained from this work indicate that ML hBN is a valleytronic material, and proximity-induced interactions can lead to the observation of OHE in the absence of an external magnetic field.