The latest research results expands upon last year's work that demonstrated that light could be transmitted along a silver nanowire as a plasmon, which are rapid oscillations in electron density. The plasmons are re-emitted at the other end of the nanowire, which is covered with the MoS2.
When the light was re-emitted, its wavelength corresponded with the band gap of the MoS2 as well as the wavelength of the laser source. This demonstrated to the researchers that the plasmons were able to push the electrons in the MoS2 into a different energy state.
...
To accomplish this, the team again took their nanowires with one end coated in MoS2 and put it on a silicon substrate. Next, they put metal contacts on the end with the MoS2 using electron beam lithography. They then set it up so they could measure the current running through it.They discovered that the current running through the wires was sensitive to the polarization of the incoming light. The current was the strongest when the light was polarized parallel to the wire.
