Optical cooling by interfacial charge transfer in 2D heterostructures.

Authors

Jiamin Lin, Baixu Xiang, Renguang Liu, Jinyang Ling, Gang Wang, Le Zhang, Li Li, Hua Li, Dongxu Zhang, Zhexing Duan, Qi Zhang, Changjin Wan, Wei Wang, Xingzhi Wang, Junhao Lin, Huajian Gao, Qihua Xiong, Weigao Xu

Published in

Nature. Jun 24, 2026. Epub Jun 24, 2026.

Abstract

Optical refrigeration, or laser cooling of solids¹, offers a cryogen-free route to temperature control for quantum and electronic systems. Existing progress^2-8 relies on a phonon-assisted up-conversion photoluminescence approach, which remains constrained by stringent material and excitation requirements. Here we demonstrate a distinct route, interfacial-charge-transfer-driven optical cooling, in two-dimensional semiconductor heterostructures. Photo-excited carriers in WSe₂ cross a type-II junction into MoSe₂ or WS₂, extracting lattice energy nonradiatively-through a phonon-assisted interfacial charge transfer process. Raman and photoluminescence measurements show prominent low-temperature signatures in the WSe₂ layer, with transient absorption spectroscopy identifying a phonon-assisted, barrier-activated interlayer charge transfer. Molecular dynamics simulations show a prominent interfacial thermal resistance sustaining the temperature gradient. This barrier-mediated phonon extraction bypasses the need for near-unity quantum efficiency or resonant excitation, offering a promising strategy for cryogen-free refrigeration and thermal management in quantum, optoelectronic and nanoscale systems.

PMID:
42343122
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 25 Jun 2026.

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