Origin of selective enhancement of sharp defect emission lines in monolayer WSe$_2$ on rough metal substrate

Abstract: The defect states in atomically thin layers of transition metal dichalcogenides are promising candidates for single photon emission. However, the brightness of such quantum emission is often weak, and is accompanied with undesirable effects like spectral diffusion and strong background emission. By placing a monolayer WSe$_2$ directly on a rough gold substrate, here we show a selective enhancement of sharp defect-bound exciton peaks, coupled with a suppressed spectral diffusion and strong quenching of background luminescence. By combining the experimental data with detailed electromagnetic simulations, we reveal that such selective luminescence enhancement originates from a combination of the Purcell effect and a wavelength dependent increment of the excitation electric field at the tips of tall rough features, coupled with a localized strain induced exciton funneling effect. Notably, insertion of a thin hexagonal Boron Nitride (hBN) sandwich layer between WSe$_2$ and the Au film results in a strong enhancement of the background luminescence, obscuring the sharp defect peaks. The findings demonstrate a simple strategy of using monolayer WSe$_2$ supported by thin metal film that offers a possibility of achieving quantum light sources with high purity, high brightness, and suppressed spectral diffusion.