Electrical Spectroscopy of Intervalley Relaxation in WSe$_2$ Transistors

Abstract

We show that the transconductance of multilayer WSe$_2$ field-effect transistors serves as a direct electrical spectrometer of the intervalley relaxation time $\tau_{\rm iv}$, previously accessible only by ultrafast optical techniques. Extending an equilibrium valley-thermodynamics framework with a single relaxation equation for the $\Gamma$-valley carrier fraction $f_\Gamma(t)$, we predict three signatures: (i)~a Lorentzian transconductance $g_m(\omega)=g_{m,0}+g_{m,v}^0/(1+i\omega\tau_{\rm iv})$, whose imaginary part peaks at $\omega_c=\tau_{\rm iv}^{-1}$ with opposite signs for bilayer and trilayer; (ii)~a two-stage current transient after a gate step, exhibiting bilayer overshoot or trilayer undershoot; and (iii)~sweep-rate-proportional hysteresis whose gate-voltage profile and the layer-dependent transconductance sign reversal distinguish valley from trap-induced dynamics. All three signatures provide quantitative electrical access to $\tau_{\rm iv}$ with standard radio-frequency (rf) and direct-current (dc) instrumentation.