Observation of Valley-polarized Landau Levels in Strained Graphene

TL;DR

This study experimentally observes valley-polarized Landau levels in strained graphene, demonstrating how pseudo-magnetic and external magnetic fields can induce valley splitting, opening avenues for novel electronic applications.

Contribution

First experimental observation of valley-polarized Landau levels in strained graphene using scanning tunneling microscopy.

Findings

Valley splitting of Landau levels observed

Pseudo-magnetic fields coexist with external magnetic fields

Potential for new electronic properties in graphene

Abstract

In strained graphene, lattice deformation can create pseudo-magnetic fields and result in zero-field Landau level-like quantization. In the presence of an external magnetic field, valley-polarized Landau levels are predicted to be observed because the pseudo-magnetic fields are of opposite directions in the K and K' valleys of graphene. Here, we present experimental spectroscopic measurements by scanning tunneling microscopy of strained graphene on Rh foil. We direct observed valley splitting of the Landau level induced by the coexistence of the pseudo-magnetic fields and external magnetic fields. The observed result paves the way to exploit novel electronic properties in graphene through the combination of the pseudo-magnetic fields and the external magnetic fields.