Zeeman splitting via spin-valley-layer coupling in bilayer MoTe2

Abstract: Atomically thin transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) possess coupling of spin and valley degrees of freedom, making them promising for spin-valleytronics. ln monolayer TMDs, the emission helicity is locked to the valleys as a consequence of spin-orbit coupling and inversion symmetry breaking, leading to a valley analog of Zeeman effect in presence of out-of-plane magnetic field. As inversion symmetry is recovered in bilayers, the emission helicity should no longer be locked to the valleys. Here we show that Zeeman splitting, however, still persists in bilayers, as a result of an additional degree of freedom viz., the layer pseudospin and spin-valley-layer locking. In contrast to monolayer, Zeeman splitting here exists without lifting valley degeneracy. The degree of circularly polarized photoluminescence can be tuned with magnetic field from $-27\%$ to $27\%$. Our results demonstrate the control of degree of freedom in bilayer with magnetic field, which, together with previous electric field control, makes bilayer a promising platform for spin-valley quantum gates based on magnetoelectric effects.