# Photon-Induced Suppression of Interlayer Tunneling in Van Der Waals Heterostructures

## TL;DR

This paper presents a theoretical model showing how strong electromagnetic fields can suppress interlayer tunneling in van der Waals heterostructures, revealing photon-assisted resonant tunneling effects and potential tunneling localization.

## Contribution

The study introduces a novel theory for photon-driven interlayer tunneling, highlighting anti-resonances at specific bias voltages and the role of Floquet sidebands in two-band systems.

## Key findings

- Anti-resonances occur at bias voltages equal to integer multiples of light frequency.
- Photon-assisted resonant tunneling transitions are identified between Floquet sidebands.
- Potential for tunneling localization using strong electromagnetic fields is demonstrated.

## Abstract

We develop a theory for interlayer tunneling in van der Waals heterostructures driven under a strong electromagnetic field, using graphene/{\it h}-BN/graphene as a paradigmatic example. Our theory predicts that strong anti-resonances appear at bias voltage values equal to an integer multiple of the light frequency. These features are found to originate from photon-assisted resonant tunneling transitions between Floquet sidebands of different graphene layers, and are unique to two-band systems due to the interplay of both intraband and interband tunneling transitions. Our results point to the possibility of tunneling localization in van der Waals heterostructures using strong electromagnetic fields.