Evidence for Dirac flat band superconductivity enabled by quantum geometry.

In a flat band superconductor, the charge carriers' group velocity v is extremely slow. Superconductivity therein is particularly intriguing, being related to the long-standing mysteries of high-temperature superconductors and heavy-fermion systems. Yet the emergence of superconductivity in flat bands would appear paradoxical, as a small v in the conventional Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer theory implies vanishing coherence length, superfluid stiffness and critical current.

Gate-Tunable Magnetism and Giant Magnetoresistance in Suspended Rhombohedral-Stacked Few-Layer Graphene.

Conventionally, magnetism arises from the strong exchange interaction among the magnetic moments of d- or f-shell electrons. It can also emerge in perfect lattices from nonmagnetic elements, such as that exemplified by the Stoner criterion. Here we report tunable magnetism in suspended rhombohedral-stacked few-layer graphene (r-FLG) devices with flat bands.

Reproducibility in the fabrication and physics of moiré materials.

Overlaying two atomic layers with a slight lattice mismatch or at a small rotation angle creates a moiré superlattice, which has properties that are markedly modified from (and at times entirely absent in) the 'parent' materials. Such moiré materials have progressed the study and engineering of strongly correlated phenomena and topological systems in reduced dimensions. The fundamental understanding of the electronic phases, such as superconductivity, requires a precise control of the challenging fabrication process, involving the rotational alignment of two atomically thin layers with an angular precision below 0.

Enhancing Perpendicular Magnetic Anisotropy in Garnet Ferrimagnet by Interfacing with Few-Layer WTe.

Engineering magnetic anisotropy in a ferro- or ferrimagnetic (FM) thin film is crucial in a spintronic device. One way to modify the magnetic anisotropy is through the surface of the FM thin film. Here, we report the emergence of a perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) induced by interfacial interactions in a heterostructure comprised of a garnet ferrimagnet, YFeO (YIG), and a low-symmetry, high spin-orbit coupling (SOC) transition metal dichalcogenide, WTe.

Gate-Tunable Transport in Quasi-One-Dimensional α-BiI Field Effect Transistors.

BiI belongs to a novel family of quasi-one-dimensional (1D) topological insulators (TIs). While its β phase was demonstrated to be a prototypical weak TI, the α phase, long thought to be a trivial insulator, was recently predicted to be a rare higher order TI. Here, we report the first gate tunable transport together with evidence for unconventional band topology in exfoliated α-BiI field effect transistors.

Layer- and gate-tunable spin-orbit coupling in a high-mobility few-layer semiconductor.

Spin-orbit coupling (SOC) is a relativistic effect, where an electron moving in an electric field experiences an effective magnetic field in its rest frame. In crystals without inversion symmetry, it lifts the spin degeneracy and leads to many magnetic, spintronic, and topological phenomena and applications. In bulk materials, SOC strength is a constant.

Substrate-Dependent Band Structures in Trilayer Graphene/h-BN Heterostructures.

The tight-binding model has been spectacularly successful in elucidating the electronic and optical properties of a vast number of materials. Within the tight-binding model, the hopping parameters that determine much of the band structure are often taken as constants. Here, using ABA-stacked trilayer graphene as the model system, we show that, contrary to conventional wisdom, the hopping parameters and therefore band structures are not constants, but are systematically variable depending on their relative alignment angle between h-BN.

Unprecedented Charge State Control in Graphene Quantum Dots.

High-quality double quantum dots in bilayer graphene are realized with controlled charge down to one electron. These devices provide a promising basis for spin-based qubits with long spin lifetimes.

Correlated insulating and superconducting states in twisted bilayer graphene below the magic angle.

The emergence of flat bands and correlated behaviors in "magic angle" twisted bilayer graphene (tBLG) has sparked tremendous interest, though its many aspects are under intense debate. Here we report observation of both superconductivity and the Mott-like insulating state in a tBLG device with a twist angle of ~0.93°, which is smaller than the magic angle by 15%.

Quantum Hall Effect Measurement of Spin-Orbit Coupling Strengths in Ultraclean Bilayer Graphene/WSe Heterostructures.

We study proximity-induced spin-orbit coupling (SOC) in bilayer graphene/few-layer WSe heterostructure devices. Contact mode atomic force microscopy (AFM) cleaning yields ultraclean interfaces and high-mobility devices. In a perpendicular magnetic field, we measure the quantum Hall effect to determine the Landau level structure in the presence of out-of-plane Ising and in-plane Rashba SOC.

Fractional and Symmetry-Broken Chern Insulators in Tunable Moiré Superlattices.

We study dual-gated graphene bilayer/hBN moiré superlattices. Under zero magnetic field, we observe additional resistance peaks as the charge density varies. The peaks' resistivities vary approximately quadratically with an applied perpendicular displacement field .

Raman Spectroscopy, Photocatalytic Degradation, and Stabilization of Atomically Thin Chromium Tri-iodide.

As a 2D ferromagnetic semiconductor with magnetic ordering, atomically thin chromium tri-iodide is the latest addition to the family of two-dimensional (2D) materials. However, realistic exploration of CrI-based devices and heterostructures is challenging due to its extreme instability under ambient conditions. Here, we present Raman characterization of CrI and demonstrate that the main degradation pathway of CrI is the photocatalytic substitution of iodine by water.

Quantum Wires and Waveguides Formed in Graphene by Strain.

Confinement of electrons in graphene to make devices has proven to be a challenging task. Electrostatic methods fail because of Klein tunneling, while etching into nanoribbons requires extreme control of edge terminations, and bottom-up approaches are limited in size to a few nanometers. Fortunately, its mechanical flexibility raises the possibility of using strain to alter graphene's properties and create novel straintronic devices.

Surface transport and quantum Hall effect in ambipolar black phosphorus double quantum wells.

Quantum wells (QWs) constitute one of the most important classes of devices in the study of two-dimensional (2D) systems. In a double-layer QW, the additional "which-layer" degree of freedom gives rise to celebrated phenomena, such as Coulomb drag, Hall drag, and exciton condensation. We demonstrate facile formation of wide QWs in few-layer black phosphorus devices that host double layers of charge carriers.

Layer Polarizability and Easy-Axis Quantum Hall Ferromagnetism in Bilayer Graphene.

We report magnetotransport measurements of graphene bilayers at large perpendicular electric displacement fields, up to ∼1.5 V/nm, where we observe crossings between Landau levels with different orbital quantum numbers. The displacement fields at the studied crossings are primarily determined by energy shifts originating from the Landau level layer polarizability or polarization.

Tunable Plasmonic Reflection by Bound 1D Electron States in a 2D Dirac Metal.

We show that the surface plasmons of a two-dimensional Dirac metal such as graphene can be reflected by linelike perturbations hosting one-dimensional electron states. The reflection originates from a strong enhancement of the local optical conductivity caused by optical transitions involving these bound states. We propose that the bound states can be systematically created, controlled, and liquidated by an ultranarrow electrostatic gate.

Gate-Tunable Landau Level Filling and Spectroscopy in Coupled Massive and Massless Electron Systems.

We report transport studies on coupled massive and massless electron systems, realized using twisted monolayer-graphene-natural bilayer-graphene stacks. We incorporate the layers in a dual-gated transistor geometry enabling independently tuning their charge density and the perpendicular electric field. In a perpendicular magnetic field, we observe a distinct pattern of gate-tunable Landau level crossings.

Topological Winding Number Change and Broken Inversion Symmetry in a Hofstadter's Butterfly.

Graphene's quantum Hall features are associated with a π Berry's phase due to its odd topological pseudospin winding number. In nearly aligned graphene-hexagonal BN heterostructures, the lattice and orientation mismatch produce a superlattice potential, yielding secondary Dirac points in graphene's electronic spectrum, and under a magnetic field, a Hofstadter butterfly-like energy spectrum. Here we report an additional π Berry's phase shift when tuning the Fermi level past the secondary Dirac points, originating from a change in topological winding number from odd to even when the Fermi-surface electron orbit begins to enclose the secondary Dirac points.

Superior Current Carrying Capacity of Boron Nitride Encapsulated Carbon Nanotubes with Zero-Dimensional Contacts.

We report fabrication and characterization of hexagonal boron nitride (hBN)-encapsulated carbon nanotube (CNT) field effect transistors, which are coupled to electrical leads via zero-dimensional contacts. Device quality is attested by the ohmic contacts and observation of Coulomb blockade with a single periodicity in small bandgap semiconducing nanotubes. Surprisingly, hBN-encapsulated CNT devices demonstrate significantly enhanced current carrying capacity; a single-walled CNT can sustain >180 μA current or, equivalently, a current density of ∼2 × 10(10) A/cm(2), which is a factor of 6-7 higher than devices supported on SiO2 substrates.

Graphene nanoelectromechanical systems as stochastic-frequency oscillators.

We measure the quality factor Q of electrically driven few-layer graphene drumhead resonators, providing an experimental demonstration that Q ∼ 1/T, where T is the temperature. We develop a model that includes intermodal coupling and tensioned graphene resonators. Because the resonators are atomically thin, out-of-plane fluctuations are large.

Transport measurement of Landau level gaps in bilayer graphene with layer polarization control.

Landau level (LL) gaps are important parameters for understanding electronic interactions and symmetry-broken processes in bilayer graphene (BLG). Here we present transport spectroscopy measurements of LL gaps in double-gated suspended BLG with high mobilities in the quantum Hall regime. By using bias as a spectroscopic tool, we measure the gap Δ for the quantum Hall (QH) state at filling factors ν = ±4 and -2.

Evidence for a spontaneous gapped state in ultraclean bilayer graphene.

At the charge neutrality point, bilayer graphene (BLG) is strongly susceptible to electronic interactions and is expected to undergo a phase transition to a state with spontaneously broken symmetries. By systematically investigating a large number of single-and double-gated BLG devices, we observe a bimodal distribution of minimum conductivities at the charge neutrality point. Although σ(min) is often approximately 2-3 e(2)/h (where e is the electron charge and h is Planck's constant), it is several orders of magnitude smaller in BLG devices that have both high mobility and low extrinsic doping.

Visualizing electrical breakdown and ON/OFF states in electrically switchable suspended graphene break junctions.

Narrow gaps are formed in suspended single- to few-layer graphene devices using a pulsed electrical breakdown technique. The conductance of the resulting devices can be programmed by the application of voltage pulses, with voltages of 2.5 to ~4.