Resonant Zener Interferometry in van der Waals Heterostructures

TL;DR

This paper reveals quantum interference effects in van der Waals heterostructures under in-plane electric fields, demonstrating a solid-state quantum interferometer with observable conductance oscillations and resonances.

Contribution

It introduces a novel quantum interferometry technique in van der Waals heterostructures using in-plane electric fields to probe coherent tunneling dynamics.

Findings

Observation of Landau-Zener-Stuckelberg oscillations in conductance

Identification of a resonance at specific electric field proportional to tunneling strength

Proposed use of these effects for precise engineering and characterization

Abstract

We demonstrate the presence of quantum interference effects in van der Waals heterostructures subject to in-plane electric fields. The in-plane field $F$ accelerates carriers through a hybridized band edge, and interlayer Zener tunneling occurs by distinct pathways, resulting in a solid-state quantum interferometer with imprints in transport observables. For parabolic-band bilayers, we identify two characteristic signatures which are observable in lateral conductance: Landau-Zener-Stuckelberg oscillations in the band-overlap regime periodic in $1/F$ at small fields, resembling electric-field induced quantum oscillations, and a pronounced resonance at $F\propto T_0^{3/2}$ set by the interlayer tunneling $T_0$. These features provide a directly accessible probe of coherent interferometric dynamics in van der Waals heterostructures, and could be harnessed for more precise engineering and characterization.