Enhanced light-matter interaction in an atomically thin semiconductor coupled with dielectric nano-antennas

Unique structural and optical properties of atomically thin two-dimensional semiconducting transition metal dichalcogenides enable in principle their efficient coupling to photonic cavities having the optical mode volume close to or below the diffraction limit. Recently, it has become possible to make all-dielectric nano-cavities with reduced mode volumes and negligible non-radiative losses. Here, we realise low-loss high-refractive-index dielectric gallium phosphide (GaP) nano-antennas with small mode volumes coupled to atomic mono- and bilayers of WSe $${}_{2}$$ 2 . We observe a photoluminescence enhancement exceeding 10 $${}^{4}$$ 4 compared with WSe $${}_{2}$$ 2 placed on planar GaP, and trace its origin to a combination of enhancement of the spontaneous emission rate, favourable modification of the photoluminescence directionality and enhanced optical excitation efficiency. A further effect of the coupling is observed in the photoluminescence polarisation dependence and in the Raman scattering signal enhancement exceeding 10 $${}^{3}$$ 3 . Our findings reveal dielectric nano-antennas as a promising platform for engineering light-matter coupling in two-dimensional semiconductors.