Tunable terahertz acoustic-phonon emission from monolayer molybdenum disulfide

The acoustic-phonon emission from monolayer molybdenum disulfide (ML-MoS ₂) driven by a direct-current electric field is studied theoretically using the Boltzmann equation method. It is found that the Cerenkov emission of terahertz acoustic-phonons can be generated when a very weak electric field is applied to ML-MoS ₂. The physical mechanisms of acoustic-phonon emission are analyzed from the perspective of condensed matter physics. The acoustic-phonon emission from ML-MoS ₂ is also compared with those from graphene and GaAs. The results reveal that the frequencies of acoustic-phonons generated by ML-MoS ₂ are between the frequencies of those generated from GaAs and graphene. The results of this work suggest that the ML-MoS ₂ can make up for graphene and GaAs in respect of acoustic-phonon emission and be used in tunable hypersonic devices such as terahertz sound sources.