Article Moiré band structure engineering using a twisted boron nitride substrate

Xirui Wang ORCID ; Cheng Xu ; Samuel Aronson ; Daniel Bennett ORCID ; Nisarga Paul ; Philip J. D. Crowley ORCID ; Clément Collignon ; Kenji Watanabe SAMURAI ORCID ; Takashi Taniguchi SAMURAI ORCID ; Raymond Ashoori ORCID ; Efthimios Kaxiras ; Yang Zhang ORCID ; Pablo Jarillo-Herrero ORCID ; Kenji Yasuda ORCID

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Xirui Wang, Cheng Xu, Samuel Aronson, Daniel Bennett, Nisarga Paul, Philip J. D. Crowley, Clément Collignon, Kenji Watanabe, Takashi Taniguchi, Raymond Ashoori, Efthimios Kaxiras, Yang Zhang, Pablo Jarillo-Herrero, Kenji Yasuda. Moiré band structure engineering using a twisted boron nitride substrate. Nature Communications. 2025, 16 (1), 178. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-55432-2

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(abstract)

Applying long wavelength periodic potentials on quantum materials has recently been demonstrated to be a promising pathway for engineering novel quantum phases of matter. Here, we utilize twisted bilayer boron nitride (BN) as a moiré substrate for band structure engineering. Small-angle-twisted bilayer BN is endowed with periodically arranged up and down polar domains, which imprints a periodic electrostatic potential on a target two-dimensional (2D) material placed on top. As a proof of concept, we use Bernal bilayer graphene as the target material. The resulting modulation of the band structure appears as superlattice resistance peaks, tunable by varying the twist angle, and Hofstadter butterfly physics under a magnetic field. Additionally, we demonstrate the tunability of the moiré potential by altering the dielectric thickness underneath the twisted BN. Finally, we find that near-60°-twisted bilayer BN provides a unique platform for studying the moiré structural effect without the contribution from electrostatic moiré potentials. Tunable moiré polar substrates may serve as versatile platforms to engineer the electronic, optical, and mechanical properties of 2D materials and van der Waals heterostructures.

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Keyword: Quantum materials, twisted bilayer boron nitride, band structure

Date published: 2025-01-02

Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC

Journal:

  • Nature Communications (ISSN: 20411723) vol. 16 issue. 1 178

Funding:

  • U.S. Department of Energy DE-AC02-07CH11358
  • U.S. Department of Energy DE-AC02-07CH11358
  • Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation GBMF9463
  • Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation GBMF9463
  • National Science Foundation ECCS award No. 1541959
  • National Science Foundation ECCS award No. 1541959
  • National Science Foundation DMR2309083
  • National Science Foundation DMR2309083
  • National Science Foundation 1122374
  • University of Tennessee
  • Simons Foundation 896626
  • Simons Foundation 896626
  • UC | UC Santa Barbara | Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics, University of California, Santa Barbara
  • MEXT | Japan Society for the Promotion of Science 21H05233
  • MEXT | Japan Society for the Promotion of Science 23H02052
  • MEXT | Japan Society for the Promotion of Science 21H05233
  • MEXT | Japan Society for the Promotion of Science 23H02052

Manuscript type: Publisher's version (Version of record)

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First published URL: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-55432-2

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Updated at: 2025-02-05 12:30:21 +0900

Published on MDR: 2025-02-05 12:30:21 +0900

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