The electronic transport properties and band structures for the graphene-based one-dimensional (1D) superlattices with periodic squared potentials are investigated. It is found that a new Dirac point is formed, which is exactly located at the energy which corresponds to the zero (volume) averaged wavenumber inside the 1D periodic potentials. The location of such a new Dirac point is robust against variations in the lattice constants, and it is only dependent on the ratio of potential widths. The zero-averaged wavenumber gap associated with the new Dirac point is insensitive to both the lattice constant and the structural disorder, and the defect mode in the zero-averaged wavenumber gap is weakly dependent on the insident angles of carriers.
Our research focuses on the transmission gaps of charge carriers passing through phosphorene superlattice, which are made up of a series of barriers and wells generating $n$ identical cells. We determine the solutions of the energy spectrum and then transmission using Bloch's theorem and the transfer-matrix approach. The analysis will be done on the impact of incident energy, barrier height, potential widths, period number, and transverse wave vector on transmission. We show that pseudo-gaps appear and turn into real transmission gaps by increasing the number of cells. Their number, width, and…
High mobility single and few-layer graphene sheets are in many ways attractive as nanoelectronic circuit hosts but lack energy gaps, which are essential to the operation of field-effect transistors. One of the methods used to create gaps in the spectrum of graphene systems is to form long period moire patterns by aligning the graphene and hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) substrate lattices. Here, we use planar tunneling devices with thin h-BN barriers to obtain direct and accurate tunneling spectroscopy measurements of the energy gaps in single- and bi-layer graphene-h-BN superlattice structures…
In the last decade, several works have focused on exploring the material and electrical properties of $\text{GeTe/Sb}_{2}\text{Te}_{3}$ superlattices (SLs) in particular because of some first device implementations demonstrating interesting performances such as fast switching speed, low energy consumption, and non-volatility. However, the switching mechanism in such SL-based devices remains under debate. In this work, we investigate the prototype $\text{GeTe/Sb}_{2}\text{Te}_{3}$ SLs, to analyze fundamentally their electronic and thermal properties by ab initio methods. We find that the resist…
Manipulating the valley degree of freedom to encode information for potential valleytronic devices has ignited a new direction in solid-state physics. A significant, fundamental challenge in the field of valleytronics is how to generate and regulate valley-polarized currents by practical ways. Here, we discover a new mechanism of producing valley polarization in a monolayer transition metal dichalcogenides superlattice, in which valley-resolved gaps are formed at the supercell Brillouin zone boundaries and centers due to the intervalley scattering. When the energy of the incident electron is i…
Using Chebyshev polynomials, we study the electronic transport properties of massless Dirac fermions in symmetrical graphene superlattice composed of three regions. Matching wavefunctions and using transfer matrix method, we explicitly determine transmission probability as well as the conductance and Fano factor. At vertical Dirac points, we numerically find that the transmission probability shows transmission gaps, conductance has minimums and Fano factor has maximums.
We report the first electronic compressibility measurements of magic-angle twisted bilayer graphene. The evolution of the compressibility with carrier density offers insights into the interaction-driven ground state that have not been accessible in prior transport and tunneling studies. From capacitance measurements, we determine chemical potential as a function of carrier density and find the widths of the energy gaps at fractional filling of the moiré lattice. In the electron-doped regime, we observe unexpectedly large gaps at quarter- and half-filling and strong electron-hole asymmetry. Mor…
Twisting van der Waals heterostructures to induce correlated many-body states provides a novel tuning mechanism in solid-state physics. In this work, we theoretically investigate the fate of the surface Dirac cone of a three-dimensional topological insulator subject to a superlattice potential. Using a combination of diagrammatic perturbation theory, lattice model simulations, and ab initio calculations we elucidate the unique aspects of twisting a single Dirac cone with an induced moiré potential and the role of the bulk topology on the reconstructed surface band structure. We report a dramat…
Symmetry and localization properties of defect modes of a one-dimensional bi-component magnonic superlattice are theoretically studied. The magnonic superlattice can be seen as a periodic array of nanostripes, where stripes with different width, termed as defect stripes, are periodically introduced. By controlling the geometry of the defect stripes, a transition from dispersive to practically flat spin-wave defect modes can be observed inside the magnonic band gaps. It is shown that the spin-wave profile of the defect modes can be either symmetric or antisymmetric, depending on the geometry of…
Moiré Fractional Chern Insulators III: Hartree-Fock Phase Diagram, Magic Angle Regime for Chern Insulator States, the Role of the Moiré Potential and Goldstone Gaps in Rhombohedral Graphene Superlattices
The temperonic crystal, a periodic structure with a unit cell made of two slabs sustaining temperature wave-like oscillations on short time-scales, is introduced. The complex-valued dispersion relation for the temperature scalar field is investigated for the case of a localised temperature pulse. The dispersion discloses frequency gaps, tunable upon varying the slabs thermal properties. Results are shown for the paradigmatic case of a graphene-based temperonic crystal. The temperonic crystal extends the concept of superlattices to the realm of temperature waves, allowing for coherent control o…
We study the electronic band structures of massless Dirac fermions in symmetrical graphene superlattice with cells of three regions. Using the transfer matrix method, we explicitly determine the dispersion relation in terms of different physical parameters. We numerically analyze such relation and show that there exist three zones: bound, unbound and forbidden states. In the central zone of the band structures, we determine and enumerate the vertical Dirac points, opening gaps and additional Dirac points. Finally, we inspect the potential effect on minibands, the anisotropy of group velocity a…
Quantum tunneling and defect-induced transport modulation in twisted bilayer graphene superlattices
Multidisciplinary Research and Innovation Laboratory, EMAFI team, Polydisciplinary Faculty, Sultan Moulay Slimane University（苏丹穆莱·斯莱曼大学多学科创新研究实验室）；Advanced Laboratory in Industrial Engineering and Logistics (LARILE) National School of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering, Hassan II University（哈桑二世大学电气机械工程学院工业工程与物流高级实验室）
In graphene moiré superlattices, electronic interactions between layers are mostly hidden as band structures get crowded because of folding, making their interpretation cumbersome. Here, the evolution of the electronic band structure as a function of the interlayer rotation angle is studied using Density Functional Theory followed by unfolding bands and then comparing them to their corresponding individual components. We observe interactions at regions not theoretically elucidated so far, where for small interlayer angles, gaps turn into discrete-like states that are evenly spaced in energy. W…
Confined states in multiple quantum well structures of Si$_{n}$Ge$_{n}$ nanowire superlattices
采用第一性原理赝势平面波方法研究了Si $_{n}$ Ge $_{n}$纳米线超晶格的力学性质、原子能带结构和氢钝化后的能带结构.未掺杂的四面体Si和Ge纳米线片段赝晶连接，可以形成具有原子级尖锐界面的超晶格。我们发现Si $_{n}$纳米线比Ge $_{n}$纳米线更硬。氢钝化使得这些纳米线和Si $_{n}$ Ge $_{n}$纳米线超晶格甚至更坚硬。在异质结构形成时，超晶格电子态在动量空间中形成子带。Si和Ge区的带排列导致多个量子阱，其中带边缘和带连续区中的特定状态被限制。纳米线超晶格的电子结构取决于组成Si和Ge段的长度和截面几何形状。由于裸露的Si和Ge纳米线是金属的，并且氢化纳米线的带隙随直径而变化，Si $_{n}$ Ge $_{n}$超晶格为多量子阱器件提供了许多替代方案，其引线由组成金属纳米线制成。
Most studies on moiré superlattices formed from a stack of h-BN and graphene have focused on single layer graphene; graphene with multiple layers is less understood. Here, we show that a moiré superlattice of multilayer graphene shows new features arising from the anisotropic Fermi surface affected by the superlattice structure. The moiré superlattice of a h-BN/AB-stacked tetralayer graphene heterostructure exhibited resistivity peaks showing a complicated dependence on the perpendicular electric field. The peaks were not due to secondary Dirac cones forming, but rather opening of the energy g…
We combined periodic ripples and electrostatic potentials to form curved graphene superlattices and studied the effects of space-dependent Fermi velocity induced from curvature on their electronic properties. With equal periods and symmetric potentials, the Dirac points do not move, but their locations shift under asymmetric potentials. This shift can be tuned by curvature and potentials. Tunable extra gaps in band structures can appear with unequal periods. The existence of new Dirac points is proposed, such that these new Dirac points can appear under smaller potentials with curvature, and t…
Symmetry-induced gap opening in graphene superlattices
我们研究了石墨烯中缺陷的nxn蜂窝超晶格。所考虑的缺陷是缺失的p_z轨道，可以通过在给定位置引入C原子空位或化学结合简单原子物种来实现。利用对称性论证，我们证明了当n= 3 m +1，3 m +2（m的整数）时如何可能打开一个能隙，并估计其值与缺陷浓度x=1/n^2的平方根近似相关。紧束缚计算证实了这些发现，并表明诱导能隙可以相当大，例如，x~10^{-3}时约为100 meV。对吸附在石墨烯上的H原子所形成的超晶格进行了修正的密度泛函理论计算，结果与紧束缚的结果吻合得很好，从而表明所提出的结构可以在实践中用于打开石墨烯中的间隙。
Stack of correlated insulating states in bilayer graphene kagome superlattice
State Key Laboratory of Quantum Functional Materials, School of Physical Science and Technology, ShanghaiTech University（上海科技大学物理科学与技术学院量子功能材料国家重点实验室）；ShanghaiTech Laboratory for Topological Physics, ShanghaiTech University（上海科技大学拓扑物理实验室）；Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California, Riverside（加州大学河滨分校物理与天文学系）；Department of Physics, University of Oxford（牛津大学物理系）；School of Information Science and Technology, ShanghaiTech University（上海科技大学信息科学与技术学院）
Graphene electrons feature a pair of massless Dirac cones of opposite pseudospin chirality at two valleys. Klein tunneling refers to the intriguing capability of these chiral electrons to penetrate through high and wide potential barrier. The two valleys have been treated independently in the literature, where time reversal symmetry dictates that neither the normal incidence transmission nor the angle-averaged one can have any valley polarization. Here we show that, when intervalley scattering by barrier is accounted, graphene electrons normally incident at a superlattice barrier can experienc…
We report on high-field magnetotransport (B up to 35 T) on a gated superlattice based on single-layer graphene aligned on top of hexagonal boron nitride. The large-period moiré modulation (15 nm) enables us to access the Hofstadter spectrum in the vicinity of and above one flux quantum per superlattice unit cell (Phi/Phi_0 = 1 at B = 22 T). We thereby reveal, in addition to the spin-valley antiferromagnet at nu = 0, two insulating states developing in positive and negative effective magnetic fields from the main nu = 1 and nu = -2 quantum Hall states respectively. We investigate the field depe…
We propose an optical method of shining circularly polarized and spatially periodic laser fields to imprint superlattice structures in two-dimensional electronic systems. By changing the configuration of the optical field, we synthesize various lattice structures with different spatial symmetry, periodicity, and strength. We find that the wide optical tunability allows one to tune different properties of the effective band structure, including Chern number, energy bandwidths, and band gaps. The in situ tunability of the superlattice gives rise to unique physics ranging from the topological tra…
Emergent electronic insulating states in a one-dimensional moiré superlattice
Zhejiang University（浙江大学）；The University of Osaka（大阪大学）；Dalian University（大连大学）；Inha University（仁荷大学）；National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS)（国立材料研究所）；Stony Brook University（石溪大学）
We analyze the cross-plane miniband transport in n-doped [001] silicon (Si)/germanium (Ge) superlattices using an effective mass approximation (EMA) approach that correctly accounts for the indirect nature of the Si and Ge band gaps. Direct-gap based EMA has been employed so far to investigate the electronic properties of these superlattices, that does not accurately predict transport properties. We use the Boltzmann transport equation framework in combination with the EMA band analysis, and predict that significant improvement of the thermopower of n-doped Si/Ge superlattices can be achieved …
In heterostructures consisting of atomically thin crystals layered on top of one another, lattice mismatch or rotation between the layers results in long-wavelength moiré superlattices. These moiré patterns can drive significant band structure reconstruction of the composite material, leading to a wide range of emergent phenomena including superconductivity, magnetism, fractional Chern insulating states, and moiré excitons. Here, we investigate monolayer graphene encapsulated between two crystals of boron nitride (BN), where the rotational alignment between all three components can be varied. …
We study the atomic and electronic structures of the commensurate double moiré superlattices in fully relaxed twisted bilayer graphene (TBG) nearly aligned with the hexagonal boron nitride (BN). The single-particle effective Hamiltonian ($\hat{H}^0$) taking into account the relaxation effect and the full moiré Hamiltonian introduced by BN has been built for TBG/BN. The mean-field (MF) band structures of the self-consistent Hartree-Fock (SCHF) ground states at different number ($ν$) of filled flat bands relative to the charge neutrality point (CNP) are obtained based on $\hat{H}^0$ in the plane…
