Time-reversal symmetry breaking superconductivity between twisted cuprate superconductors.

Twisted interfaces between stacked van der Waals (vdW) cuprate crystals present a platform for engineering superconducting order parameters by adjusting stacking angles. Using a cryogenic assembly technique, we construct twisted vdW Josephson junctions (JJs) at atomically sharp interfaces between BiSrCaCuO crystals, with quality approaching the limit set by intrinsic JJs. Near 45° twist angle, we observe fractional Shapiro steps and Fraunhofer patterns, consistent with the existence of two degenerate Josephson ground states related by time-reversal symmetry (TRS).

Operando electron microscopy investigation of polar domain dynamics in twisted van der Waals homobilayers.

Conventional antiferroelectric materials with atomic-scale anti-aligned dipoles undergo a transition to a ferroelectric (FE) phase under strong electric fields. The moiré superlattice formed in the twisted stacks of van der Waals crystals exhibits polar domains alternating in moiré length with anti-aligned dipoles. In this moiré domain antiferroelectic (MDAF) arrangement, the distribution of electric dipoles is distinguished from that of two-dimensional FEs, suggesting dissimilar domain dynamics.

Torsional periodic lattice distortions and diffraction of twisted 2D materials.

Twisted 2D materials form complex moiré structures that spontaneously reduce symmetry through picoscale deformation within a mesoscale lattice. We show twisted 2D materials contain a torsional displacement field comprised of three transverse periodic lattice distortions (PLD). The torsional PLD amplitude provides a single order parameter that concisely describes the structural complexity of twisted bilayer moirés.

Dual-Gated Graphene Devices for Near-Field Nano-imaging.

Graphene-based heterostructures display a variety of phenomena that are strongly tunable by electrostatic local gates. Monolayer graphene (MLG) exhibits tunable surface plasmon polaritons, as revealed by scanning nano-infrared experiments. In bilayer graphene (BLG), an electronic gap is induced by a perpendicular displacement field.

In situ nanoscale imaging of moiré superlattices in twisted van der Waals heterostructures.

Direct visualization of nanometer-scale properties of moiré superlattices in van der Waals heterostructure devices is a critically needed diagnostic tool for study of the electronic and optical phenomena induced by the periodic variation of atomic structure in these complex systems. Conventional imaging methods are destructive and insensitive to the buried device geometries, preventing practical inspection. Here we report a versatile scanning probe microscopy employing infrared light for imaging moiré superlattices of twisted bilayers graphene encapsulated by hexagonal boron nitride.

30°-Twisted Bilayer Graphene Quasicrystals from Chemical Vapor Deposition.

The artificial stacking of atomically thin crystals suffers from intrinsic limitations in terms of control and reproducibility of the relative orientation of exfoliated flakes. This drawback is particularly severe when the properties of the system critically depends on the twist angle, as in the case of the dodecagonal quasicrystal formed by two graphene layers rotated by 30°. Here we show that large-area 30°-rotated bilayer graphene can be grown deterministically by chemical vapor deposition on Cu, eliminating the need of artificial assembly.

Atomic and electronic reconstruction at the van der Waals interface in twisted bilayer graphene.

Control of the interlayer twist angle in two-dimensional van der Waals (vdW) heterostructures enables one to engineer a quasiperiodic moiré superlattice of tunable length scale. In twisted bilayer graphene, the simple moiré superlattice band description suggests that the electronic bandwidth can be tuned to be comparable to the vdW interlayer interaction at a 'magic angle', exhibiting strongly correlated behaviour. However, the vdW interlayer interaction can also cause significant structural reconstruction at the interface by favouring interlayer commensurability, which competes with the intralayer lattice distortion.

Suspended Solid-state Membranes on Glass Chips with Sub 1-pF Capacitance for Biomolecule Sensing Applications.

Solid-state membranes are finding use in many applications in nanoelectronics and nanomedicine, from single molecule sensors to water filtration, and yet many of their electronics applications are limited by the relatively high current noise and low bandwidth stemming from the relatively high capacitance (>10 pF) of the membrane chips. To address this problem, we devised an integrated fabrication process to grow and define circular silicon nitride membranes on glass chips that successfully lower the chip capacitance to below 1 pF. We use these devices to demonstrate low-noise, high-bandwidth DNA translocation measurements.

Up and down translocation events and electric double-layer formation inside solid-state nanopores.

We present a theoretical study of nanorod translocation events through solid-state nanopores of different sizes which result in positive or negative ion conductance changes. Using theoretical models, we show that positive conductance changes or up events happen for nanopore diameters smaller than a transition diameter dt, and negative conductance changes or down events occur for nanopore diameters larger than dt. We investigate the underlying physics of such translocation phenomena and describe the significance of the electric double-layer effects for nanopores with small diameters.

Improving signal-to-noise performance for DNA translocation in solid-state nanopores at MHz bandwidths.

DNA sequencing using solid-state nanopores is, in part, impeded by the relatively high noise and low bandwidth of the current state-of-the-art translocation measurements. In this Letter, we measure the ion current noise through sub 10 nm thick Si3N4 nanopores at bandwidths up to 1 MHz. At these bandwidths, the input-referred current noise is dominated by the amplifier's voltage noise acting across the total capacitance at the amplifier input.