Moir\'e pattern multiplicity driven by electronic effects in two-dimensional CrCl3/Au heterostructures

TL;DR

This study reveals that electronic effects in 2D CrCl3/Au heterostructures cause multiple moiré patterns to coexist, with their visibility depending on tunneling bias, reconciling STM and diffraction observations.

Contribution

It demonstrates that STM selectively probes different moiré modulations based on electronic confinement, uncovering hidden higher-order patterns and energy-dependent spectral weights.

Findings

Multiple moiré patterns coexist at fixed twist angles.

Spectral weight of patterns varies with electron energy.

Fourier analysis uncovers hidden higher-order moiré components.

Abstract

Moir\'e patterns are a central motif in van der Waals heterostructures arising from the superposition of two-dimensional (2D) incommensurate lattices. These patterns reveal a wealth of correlated effects, influencing electronic, magnetic, and structural phenomena. While diffraction techniques typically resolve multiple moir\'e wave-vectors corresponding to the incommensurate nature of the underlying lattices, Scanning Tunneling Microscopy (STM) often reveals only a dominant superperiod. In this work, we address this apparent discrepancy through an STM study of a twisted monolayer of CrCl3 on Au(111). We observe the coexistence of several moir\'e patterns at a fixed twist angle, whose relative intensity depends on the tunneling bias. Fourier analysis of STM data uncovers hidden higher-order moir\'e components not visible in STM topographic images, while spectroscopy maps reveal that the spectral weight of each pattern varies with electron energy. Our results establish that STM selectively probes on the same area distinct moir\'e modulations depending on electronic confinement, providing a unified framework that reconciles real space and reciprocal space observations of complex moir\'e superstructures.