Flat band and Lifschitz transition in long-range ordered supergraphene obtained by Erbium intercalation

TL;DR

This study reports the creation of a long-range ordered Erbium-intercalated graphene superstructure that exhibits a flat band and reaches the Lifshitz transition, revealing new electronic properties and potential for magnetic interactions.

Contribution

It demonstrates the first observation of a flat band and Lifshitz transition in a graphene superstructure achieved through ordered Erbium intercalation.

Findings

Graphene exhibits a long-range ordered hexagonal superstructure with a 1.40 nm lattice parameter.

Dirac cones with perfect linear dispersion are observed at a high doping level.

A wide flat band appears around the M point after reaching the Lifshitz transition.

Abstract

Dispersionless energy bands are a peculiar property gathering increasing attention for the emergence of novel photonic, magnetic and electronic properties. Here we report the first observation of a graphene superstructure n-doped up to the Lifshitz transition and exhibiting a flat band, obtained by ordered Erbium intercalation between a single layer graphene and SiC(0001). STM experiments reveal large graphene areas characterized by a long-range ordered hexagonal superstructure with a lattice parameter of 1.40 nm, rotated by 19 degrees with respect to the original lattice. Angle Resolved Photoelectron Spectroscopy measurements show that this graphene structure exhibits Dirac cones with perfect linear dispersion, and a Dirac point at -1.72 eV +/- 0.02 under the Fermi level, which is one of the highest doping levels ever obtained solely by intercalation. Fermi surface measurements show that the Lifshitz transition has been reached, and that a wide flat band is generated around the M point. We propose that this modification of the band structure is the effect of an induced spin-orbit coupling. This system provides a playground to study the interaction between a novel magnetic order mediated by pi-band states, and a divergent density of states at the Fermi level.