Intervalley scattering in monolayer MoS2 probed by non-equilibrium optical techniques

Here we study the exciton valley relaxation dynamics in atomically thin MoS2 by non-equilibrium optical techniques. A spin polarized excitons population is selectively created in a single valley by circularly polarized ultrashort laser pulses resonant with the optical gap, while the subsequent decay of the valley polarization is measured as a rotation of a linearly polarized probe beam due to a transient Faraday effect. We show that the photoinduced valley polarization in monolayer MoS2 is quenched after few ps due to an efficient intervalley scattering channel and it displays a peculiar bi-exponential behavior. This rapid time scale is in a good agreement with an intervalley scattering mechanism mediated by an electron-hole exchange interaction. Moreover time resolved circular dichroism experiments performed in the same experimental condition confirms the fast valley relaxation dynamics observed with transient Faraday rotation technique.