Deep moir\'e potentials in twisted transition metal dichalcogenide bilayers

TL;DR

This study reveals unexpectedly large and non-monotonically varying moiré potentials in twisted TMD bilayers, driven mainly by structural strain rather than interlayer coupling, with implications for quantum device engineering.

Contribution

It provides experimental evidence that structural strain dominates moiré potential formation in twisted TMD bilayers, challenging previous theoretical estimates based solely on interlayer coupling.

Findings

Moiré potential exceeds 300 meV in valence band

Moiré potential peaks at ~13 nm wavelength

Structural strain governs moiré potential formation

Abstract

In twisted bilayers of semiconducting transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs), a combination of structural rippling and electronic coupling gives rise to periodic moir\'e potentials that can confine charged and neutral excitations. Here, we report experimental measurements of the structure and spectroscopic properties of twisted bilayers of WSe2 and MoSe2 in the H-stacking configuration using scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). Our experiments reveal that the moir\'e potential in these bilayers at small angles is unexpectedly large, reaching values of above 300 meV for the valence band and 150 meV for the conduction band - an order of magnitude larger than theoretical estimates based on interlayer coupling alone. We further demonstrate that the moir\'e potential is a non-monotonic function of moir\'e wavelength, reaching a maximum at around a 13nm moir\'e period. This non-monotonicity coincides with a drastic change in the structure of the moir\'e pattern from a continuous variation of stacking order at small moir\'e wavelengths to a one-dimensional soliton dominated structure at large moir\'e wavelengths. We show that the in-plane structure of the moir\'e pattern is captured well by a continuous mechanical relaxation model, and find that the moir\'e structure and internal strain rather than the interlayer coupling is the dominant factor in determining the moir\'e potential. Our results demonstrate the potential of using precision moir\'e structures to create deeply trapped carriers or excitations for quantum electronics and optoelectronics.