We performed a nanoscale confocal absorption spectral imaging to obtain the full absorption spectra (over the range 1.5-3.2 eV) within regions having different numbers of layers and studied the variation of optical transition depending on the atomic thickness of the MoS2 film. Three distinct absorption bands corresponding to A and B excitons and a high-energy background (BG) peak at 2.84 eV displayed a gradual redshift as the MoS2 film thickness increased from the monolayer, to the bilayer, to the bulk MoS2 and this shift was attributed to the reduction of the gap energy in the Brillouin zone at the K-point as the atomic thickness increased. We also performed n-type chemical doping of MoS2 films using reduced benzyl viologen (BV) and the confocal absorption spectra modified by the doping showed a strong dependence on the atomic thickness: A and B exciton peaks were greatly quenched in the monolayer MoS2 while much less effect was shown in larger thickness and the BG peak either showed very small quenching for 1 L MoS2 or remained constant for larger thicknesses. Our results indicate that confocal absorption spectral imaging can provide comprehensive information on optical transitions of microscopic size intrinsic and doped two-dimensional layered materials.

Monolayer tungsten disulfides (WS2) constitute a high quantum yield two-dimensional (2D) system, and can be synthesized on a large area using chemical vapor deposition (CVD), suggesting promising nanophotonics applications. However, spatially nonuniform photoluminescence (PL) intensities and peak wavelengths observed in single WS2 grains have puzzled researchers, with the origins of variation in relative contributions of excitons, trions, and biexcitons to the PL emission not well understood. Here, we present nanoscale PL and Raman spectroscopy images of triangular CVD-grown WS2 monolayers of different sizes, with these images obtained under different temperatures and values of excitation power. Intense PL emissions were observed around the edges of individual WS2 grains and the grain boundaries between partly merged WS2 grains. The predominant origin of the main PL emission from these regions changed from neutral excitons to trions and biexcitons with increasing laser excitation power, with biexcitons completely dominating the PL emission for the high-power condition. The intense PL emission and the preferential formation of biexcitons in the edges and grain boundaries of monolayer WS2 were attributed to larger population of charge carriers caused by the excessive incorporation of growth promoters during the CVD, suggesting positive roles of excessive carriers in the PL efficiency of TMD monolayers. Our comprehensive nanoscale spectroscopic investigation sheds light on the dynamic competition between exciton complexes occurring in monolayer WS2, suggesting a rich variety of ways to engineer new nanophotonic functions using 2D transition metal dichalcogenide monolayers.

Cryptococcus neoformans causes life-threatening meningoencephalitis in humans, but its overall biological and pathogenic regulatory circuits remain elusive, particularly due to the presence of an evolutionarily divergent set of transcription factors (TFs). Here, we report the construction of a high-quality library of 322 signature-tagged gene-deletion strains for 155 putative TF genes previously predicted using the DNA-binding domain TF database, and examine their in vitro and in vivo phenotypic traits under 32 distinct growth conditions. At least one phenotypic trait is exhibited by 145 out of 155 TF mutants (93%) and ∼85% of them (132/155) are functionally characterized for the first time in this study. The genotypic and phenotypic data for each TF are available in the C. neoformans TF phenome database (http://tf.cryptococcus.org). In conclusion, our phenome-based functional analysis of the C. neoformans TF mutant library provides key insights into transcriptional networks of basidiomycetous fungi and human fungal pathogens.