Emergence of moir\'e superlattice potential in graphene by twisted-hBN layers

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates a novel method to induce moiré superlattice potentials in graphene using twisted hBN layers, enabling exploration of moiré physics without lattice mismatch constraints.

Contribution

The study introduces a twisted hBN moiré substrate approach that creates moiré potentials in graphene independent of lattice mismatch, broadening material choices for moiré physics research.

Findings

Graphene exhibits typical moiré-induced transport features on twisted hBN.

The moiré potential is strongly dependent on the twist angle between hBN layers.

The method allows for moiré physics exploration in arbitrary materials.

Abstract

Moir\'e superlattices formed in stacks of two or more 2D crystals with similar lattice structures have recently become excellent platforms to reveal new physics in low-dimensional systems. They are, however, highly sensitive to the angle and lattice constant differences between the associated crystals, limiting the range of the material choice and the possible moir\'e patterns for a given 2D crystal. Here, we present a novel approach to realize an atomically flat substrate with a periodic moir\'e pattern that can induce the moir\'e potential on the material on top by van der Waals (vdW) interactions, without suffering from the lattice and angle mismatch. By constructing a twisted hBN (thBN) moir\'e substrate at an angle of about 1$^\circ$, we show that the graphene on top, aligned around 15$^\circ$ with the neighboring hBN layers, exhibits typical transport properties under a hexagonal moir\'e potential, including multiple satellite Dirac points (DPs), Hofstadter butterfly effect, and Brown-Zak oscillations. All features point to the existence of the moir\'e potential in graphene formed by thBN with $\sim$1$^\circ$ twist angle. Further statistical study shows that the twist from a parallel interface between the hBN layers is critical to induce the moir\'e potential. Our study demonstrates that the thBN moir\'e substrate can be used to investigate moir\'e physics in arbitrary materials without being constrained by their lattice constants.