Stacking orders induced direct band gap in bilayer MoSe₂ -WSe₂ lateral heterostructures

The direct band gap of monolayer semiconducting transition-metal dichalcogenides (STMDs) enables a host of new optical and electrical properties. However, bilayer STMDs are indirect band gap semiconductors, which limits its applicability for high-efficiency optoelectronic devices. Here, we report that the direct band gap can be achieved in bilayer MoSe₂ -WSe₂ lateral heterostructures by alternating stacking orders. Specifically, when Se atoms from opposite layers are stacked directly on top of each other, AA and A'B stacked heterostructures show weaker interlayer coupling, larger interlayer distance and direct band gap. Whereas, when Se atoms from opposite layers are staggered, AA', AB and AB' stacked heterostructures exhibit stronger interlayer coupling, shorter interlayer distance and indirect band gap. Thus, the direct/indirect band gap can be controllable in bilayer MoSe₂ -WSe₂ lateral heterostructures. In addition, the calculated sliding barriers indicate that the stacking orders of bilayer MoSe₂ -WSe₂ lateral heterostructures can be easily formed by sliding one layer with respect to the other. The novel direct band gap in bilayer MoSe₂ -WSe₂ lateral heterostructures provides possible application for high-efficiency optoelectronic devices. The results also show that the stacking order is an effective strategy to induce and tune the band gap of layered STMDs.