Confined monolayer Ag as a large gap 2D semiconductor and its momentum resolved excited states

Abstract: 2D materials have intriguing quantum phenomena that are distinctively different from their bulk counterparts. Recently, epitaxially synthesized wafer-scale 2D metals, composed of elemental atoms, are attracting attention not only for their potential applications but also for exotic quantum effects such as superconductivity. By mapping momentum-resolved electronic states using time-resolved and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES), we reveal that monolayer Ag confined between bilayer graphene and SiC is a large gap (> 1 eV) 2D semiconductor, consistent with GW-corrected density functional theory. The measured valence band dispersion matches the DFT-GW quasiparticle band. However, the conduction band dispersion shows an anomalously large effective mass of 2.4 m0. Possible mechanisms for this large enhancement in the apparent mass are discussed.