Plasmon-enhanced Raman spectroscopy of two-dimensional semiconductors

Two-dimensional (2D) semiconductors have grown fast into an extraordinary research field due to their unique physical properties compared to other semiconducting materials. The class of materials proved extremely fertile for both fundamental studies and a wide range of applications from electronics/spintronics/optoelectronics to photocatalysis and CO2 reduction. 2D materials are highly confined in the out-of-plane direction and often possess very good environmental stability. Therefore, they have also become a popular material system for the manipulation of optoelectronic properties via numerous external parameters. Being a versatile characterization technique, Raman spectroscopy is used extensively to study and characterize various physical properties of 2D materials. However, weak signals and low spatial resolution hinder its application in more advanced systems where decoding local information plays an important role in advancing our understanding of these materials for nanotechnology applications. In this regard, plasmon-enhanced Raman spectroscopy has been introduced in recent time to investigate local heterogeneous information of 2D semiconductors. In this review, we summarize the recent progress of plasmon-enhanced Raman spectroscopy of 2D semiconductors. We discuss the current state-of-art and provide future perspectives on this specific branch of Raman spectroscopy applied to 2D semiconductors.

Automated summary

Two-dimensional (2D) semiconductors have unique physical properties compared to other semiconducting materials, which makes them highly valuable for various applications. Raman spectroscopy is extensively used to study their physical properties, but it has limitations in advanced systems. Plasmon-enhanced Raman spectroscopy has emerged as a solution to investigate local heterogeneous information of 2D semiconductors.