# Spin-orbit driven band inversion in bilayer graphene by van der Waals proximity effect

## TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that van der Waals proximity to a transition metal dichalcogenide induces strong spin-orbit coupling in bilayer graphene, leading to a band-inverted phase with potential topological properties.

## Contribution

It introduces a method to engineer Kane-Mele SOC in bilayer graphene via layer-selective proximity effect, resulting in a new phase consistent with SOC-driven band inversion.

## Key findings

- SOC induces a gapped, incompressible phase at charge neutrality.
- The phase exhibits a conductivity of about e^2/h, suppressed by small magnetic fields.
- Evidence suggests the presence of helical edge states protected by spin symmetry.

## Abstract

Spin orbit coupling (SOC) is the key to realizing time-reversal invariant topological phases of matter. Famously, SOC was predicted by Kane and Mele to stabilize a quantum spin Hall insulator; however, the weak intrinsic SOC in monolayer graphene has precluded experimental observation. Here, we exploit a layer-selective proximity effect---achieved via van der Waals contact to a semiconducting transition metal dichalcogenide--to engineer Kane-Mele SOC in ultra-clean \textit{bilayer} graphene. Using high-resolution capacitance measurements to probe the bulk electronic compressibility, we find that SOC leads to the formation of a distinct incompressible, gapped phase at charge neutrality. The experimental data agrees quantitatively with a simple theoretical model in which the new phase results from SOC-driven band inversion. In contrast to Kane-Mele SOC in monolayer graphene, the inverted phase is not expected to be a time reversal invariant topological insulator, despite being separated from conventional band insulators by electric field tuned phase transitions where crystal symmetry mandates that the bulk gap must close. Electrical transport measurements, conspicuously, reveal that the inverted phase has a conductivity $\sim e^2/h$, which is suppressed by exceptionally small in-plane magnetic fields. The high conductivity and anomalous magnetoresistance are consistent with theoretical models that predict helical edge states within the inversted phase, that are protected from backscattering by an emergent spin symmetry that remains robust even for large Rashba SOC. Our results pave the way for proximity engineering of strong topological insulators as well as correlated quantum phases in the strong spin-orbit regime in graphene heterostructures.