skip to main content
US FlagAn official website of the United States government
dot gov icon
Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
https lock icon
Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( lock ) or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Attention:

The NSF Public Access Repository (PAR) system and access will be unavailable from 11:00 PM ET on Friday, May 16 until 2:00 AM ET on Saturday, May 17 due to maintenance. We apologize for the inconvenience.

Explore Research Products in the PAR
It may take a few hours for recently added research products to appear in PAR search results.


Title: Tuning electron correlation in magic-angle twisted bilayer graphene using Coulomb screening
Controlling the strength of interactions is essential for studying quantum phenomena emerging in systems of correlated fermions. We introduce a device geometry whereby magic-angle twisted bilayer graphene is placed in close proximity to a Bernal bilayer graphene, separated by a 3-nanometer-thick barrier. By using charge screening from the Bernal bilayer, the strength of electron-electron Coulomb interaction within the twisted bilayer can be continuously tuned. Transport measurements show that tuning Coulomb screening has opposite effects on the insulating and superconducting states: As Coulomb interaction is weakened by screening, the insulating states become less robust, whereas the stability of superconductivity at the optimal doping is enhanced. The results provide important constraints on theoretical models for understanding the mechanism of superconductivity in magic-angle twisted bilayer graphene.  more » « less
Award ID(s):
1916958
PAR ID:
10217924
Author(s) / Creator(s):
 ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  
Publisher / Repository:
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Date Published:
Journal Name:
Science
Volume:
371
Issue:
6535
ISSN:
0036-8075
Page Range / eLocation ID:
p. 1261-1265
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
More Like this
  1. ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; et al (, Nature Communications)
    null (Ed.)
    Abstract The discovery of interaction-driven insulating and superconducting phases in moiré van der Waals heterostructures has sparked considerable interest in understanding the novel correlated physics of these systems. While a significant number of studies have focused on twisted bilayer graphene, correlated insulating states and a superconductivity-like transition up to 12 K have been reported in recent transport measurements of twisted double bilayer graphene. Here we present a scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy study of gate-tunable twisted double bilayer graphene devices. We observe splitting of the van Hove singularity peak by ~20 meV at half-filling of the conduction flat band, with a corresponding reduction of the local density of states at the Fermi level. By mapping the tunneling differential conductance we show that this correlated system exhibits energetically split states that are spatially delocalized throughout the different regions in the moiré unit cell, inconsistent with order originating solely from onsite Coulomb repulsion within strongly-localized orbitals. We have performed self-consistent Hartree-Fock calculations that suggest exchange-driven spontaneous symmetry breaking in the degenerate conduction flat band is the origin of the observed correlated state. Our results provide new insight into the nature of electron-electron interactions in twisted double bilayer graphene and related moiré systems. 
    more » « less
  2. ; ; (, npj Quantum Materials)
    Abstract Magic-angle twisted bilayer graphene (MATBG) exhibits a panoply of many-body phenomena that are intimately tied to the appearance of narrow and well-isolated electronic bands. The microscopic ingredients that are responsible for the complex experimental phenomenology include electron–electron (phonon) interactions and nontrivial Bloch wavefunctions associated with the narrow bands. Inspired by recent experiments, we focus on two independent quantities that are considerably modified by Coulomb interaction-driven band renormalization, namely the density of states and the minimal spatial extent associated with the Wannier functions. First, we show that a filling-dependent enhancement of the density of states, caused by band flattening, in combination with phonon-mediated attraction due to electron-phonon umklapp processes, increases the tendency towards superconducting pairing in a range of angles around magic-angle. Second, we demonstrate that the minimal spatial extent associated with the Wannier functions, which contributes towards increasing the superconducting phase stiffness, also develops a nontrivial enhancement due to the interaction-induced renormalization of the Bloch wavefunctions. While our modeling of superconductivity (SC) assumes a weak electron-phonon coupling and does not consider many of the likely relevant correlation effects, it explains simply the experimentally observed robustness of SC in the wide range of angles that occurs in the relevant range of fillings. 
    more » « less
  3. ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; et al (, Nature)
    Abstract The unusual properties of superconductivity in magic-angle twisted bilayer graphene (MATBG) have sparked considerable research interest1–13. However, despite the dedication of intensive experimental efforts and the proposal of several possible pairing mechanisms14–24, the origin of its superconductivity remains elusive. Here, by utilizing angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy with micrometre spatial resolution, we reveal flat-band replicas in superconducting MATBG, where MATBG is unaligned with its hexagonal boron nitride substrate11. These replicas show uniform energy spacing, approximately 150 ± 15 meV apart, indicative of strong electron–boson coupling. Strikingly, these replicas are absent in non-superconducting twisted bilayer graphene (TBG) systems, either when MATBG is aligned to hexagonal boron nitride or when TBG deviates from the magic angle. Calculations suggest that the formation of these flat-band replicas in superconducting MATBG are attributed to the strong coupling between flat-band electrons and an optical phonon mode at the graphene K point, facilitated by intervalley scattering. These findings, although they do not necessarily put electron–phonon coupling as the main driving force for the superconductivity in MATBG, unravel the electronic structure inherent in superconducting MATBG, thereby providing crucial information for understanding the unusual electronic landscape from which its superconductivity is derived. 
    more » « less
  4. ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; et al (, Nature Communications)
    Abstract Twisted 2D materials form complex moiré structures that spontaneously reduce symmetry through picoscale deformation within a mesoscale lattice. We show twisted 2D materials contain a torsional displacement field comprised of three transverse periodic lattice distortions (PLD). The torsional PLD amplitude provides a single order parameter that concisely describes the structural complexity of twisted bilayer moirés. Moreover, the structure and amplitude of a torsional periodic lattice distortion is quantifiable using rudimentary electron diffraction methods sensitive to reciprocal space. In twisted bilayer graphene, the torsional PLD begins to form at angles below 3.89° and the amplitude reaches 8 pm around the magic angle of 1. 1°. At extremely low twist angles (e.g. below 0.25°) the amplitude increases and additional PLD harmonics arise to expand Bernal stacked domains separated by well defined solitonic boundaries. The torsional distortion field in twisted bilayer graphene is analytically described and has an upper bound of 22.6 pm. Similar torsional distortions are observed in twisted WS 2 , CrI 3 , and WSe 2 /MoSe 2 . 
    more » « less
  5. ; ; ; (, Communications Physics)
    Abstract The discovery of unconventional superconductivity in magic-angle twisted bilayer graphene (tBLG) supported the twist-angle-induced flat band structure predictions made a decade earlier. Numerous physical properties have since been linked to the interlayer twist angle using the flat band prediction as a guideline. However, some key observations like the nematic phase and striped charge order behind the superconductivity are missing in this initial model. Here we show that a thermodynamically stable large out-of-plane displacement, or corrugation of the bilayer, induced by the interlayer twist, demonstrates partially filled states of the flat band structure, accompanied by a broken symmetry, in the magic-angle regime and the presence of symmetry breaking associated with the superconductivity in tBLG. The distinction between low and high corrugation can also explain the observed evolution of the vibrational spectra of tBLG as a function of twist angle. Our observation that large out-of-plane deformation modes enable partial filling of states near the Fermi energy may lead to a strategy for offsetting the effects of disorder in the local twist angle, which suppresses unconventional superconductivity and correlated insulator behavior in magic-angle tBLG. 
    more » « less
  • Citation Formats
  • MLA
  • APA
  • Chicago
  • BibTeX
  • Save / Share this Record
  • Send to Email