Dynamic band-structure tuning of graphene moiré superlattices with pressure

Matthew Yankowitz, Jeil Jung, Evan Laksono, Nicolas Leconte, Bheema L. Chittari, K. Watanabe, T. Taniguchi, Shaffique Adam, David Graf and Cory R. Dean ()
Additional contact information
Matthew Yankowitz: Columbia University
Jeil Jung: University of Seoul
Evan Laksono: National University of Singapore
Nicolas Leconte: University of Seoul
Bheema L. Chittari: University of Seoul
K. Watanabe: National Institute for Materials Science
T. Taniguchi: National Institute for Materials Science
Shaffique Adam: National University of Singapore
David Graf: National High Magnetic Field Laboratory
Cory R. Dean: Columbia University

Nature, 2018, vol. 557, issue 7705, 404-408

Abstract: Abstract Heterostructures can be assembled from atomically thin materials by combining a wide range of available van der Waals crystals, providing exciting possibilities for designer electronics1. In many cases, beyond simply realizing new material combinations, interlayer interactions lead to emergent electronic properties that are fundamentally distinct from those of the constituent layers2. A critical parameter in these structures is the interlayer coupling strength, but this is often not easy to determine and is typically considered to be a fixed property of the system. Here we demonstrate that we can controllably tune the interlayer separation in van der Waals heterostructures using hydrostatic pressure, providing a dynamic way to modify their electronic properties. In devices in which graphene is encapsulated in boron nitride and aligned with one of the encapsulating layers, we observe that increasing pressure produces a superlinear increase in the moiré-superlattice-induced bandgap—nearly doubling within the studied range—together with an increase in the capacitive gate coupling to the active channel by as much as 25 per cent. Comparison to theoretical modelling highlights the role of atomic-scale structural deformations and how this can be altered with pressure. Our results demonstrate that combining hydrostatic pressure with controlled rotational order provides opportunities for dynamic band-structure engineering in van der Waals heterostructures.

Date: 2018
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-018-0107-1 Abstract (text/html)
Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nat:nature:v:557:y:2018:i:7705:d:10.1038_s41586-018-0107-1

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://www.nature.com/

DOI: 10.1038/s41586-018-0107-1

Access Statistics for this article

Nature is currently edited by Magdalena Skipper

More articles in Nature from Nature
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().