Band structure engineering using a moir\'e polar substrate

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates how twisted bilayer boron nitride can be used as a moiré polar substrate to engineer the band structure of 2D materials like graphene, enabling tunable electronic properties and novel quantum phenomena.

Contribution

It introduces a new method of band structure engineering using moiré polar substrates, specifically twisted bilayer BN, and explores its effects on target 2D materials.

Findings

Moiré potential modulates graphene's band structure with tunable superlattice peaks.

Observation of Hofstadter butterfly physics under magnetic field.

Tunable moiré potential via dielectric thickness adjustment.

Abstract

Applying long wavelength periodic potentials on quantum materials has recently been demonstrated to be a promising pathway for engineering novel quantum phases of matter. Here, we utilize twisted bilayer boron nitride (BN) as a moir\'e substrate for band structure engineering. Small-angle-twisted bilayer BN is endowed with periodically arranged up and down polar domains, which imprints a periodic electrostatic potential on a target two-dimensional (2D) material placed on top. As a proof of concept, we use Bernal bilayer graphene as the target material. The resulting modulation of the band structure appears as superlattice resistance peaks, tunable by varying the twist angle, and Hofstadter butterfly physics under a magnetic field. Additionally, we demonstrate the tunability of the moir\'e potential by altering the dielectric thickness underneath the twisted BN. Finally, we find that near-60{\deg}-twisted bilayer BN provides a unique platform for studying the moir\'e structural effect without the contribution from electrostatic moir\'e potentials. Tunable moir\'e polar substrates may serve as versatile platforms to engineer the electronic, optical, and mechanical properties of 2D materials and van der Waals heterostructures.