John R. Wallbank

Cloning of Dirac fermions in graphene superlattices

Superlattices have attracted great interest because their use may make it possible to modify the spectra of two-dimensional electron systems and, ultimately, create materials with tailored electronic properties. In previous studies (see, for example, refs 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8), it proved difficult to realize superlattices with short periodicities and weak disorder, and most of their observed features could be explained in terms of cyclotron orbits commensurate with the superlattice. Evidence for the formation of superlattice minibands (forming a fractal spectrum known as Hofstadter’s butterfly) has been limited to the observation of new low-field oscillations and an internal structure within Landau levels. Here we report transport properties of graphene placed on a boron nitride substrate and accurately aligned along its crystallographic directions. The substrate’s moiré potential acts as a superlattice and leads to profound changes in the graphene’s electronic spectrum. Second-generation Dirac points appear as pronounced peaks in resistivity, accompanied by reversal of the Hall effect. The latter indicates that the effective sign of the charge carriers changes within graphene’s conduction and valence bands. Strong magnetic fields lead to Zak-type cloning of the third generation of Dirac points, which are observed as numerous neutrality points in fields where a unit fraction of the flux quantum pierces the superlattice unit cell. Graphene superlattices such as this one provide a way of studying the rich physics expected in incommensurable quantum systems and illustrate the possibility of controllably modifying the electronic spectra of two-dimensional atomic crystals by varying their crystallographic alignment within van der Waals heterostuctures.

Twist-controlled resonant tunnelling in graphene/boron nitride/graphene heterostructures

Recent developments in the technology of van der Waals heterostructures made from two-dimensional atomic crystals have already led to the observation of new physical phenomena, such as the metal-insulator transition and Coulomb drag, and to the realization of functional devices, such as tunnel diodes, tunnel transistors and photovoltaic sensors. An unprecedented degree of control of the electronic properties is available not only by means of the selection of materials in the stack, but also through the additional fine-tuning achievable by adjusting the built-in strain and relative orientation of the component layers. Here we demonstrate how careful alignment of the crystallographic orientation of two graphene electrodes separated by a layer of hexagonal boron nitride in a transistor device can achieve resonant tunnelling with conservation of electron energy, momentum and, potentially, chirality. We show how the resonance peak and negative differential conductance in the device characteristics induce a tunable radiofrequency oscillatory current that has potential for future high-frequency technology.

Generic miniband structure of graphene on a hexagonal substrate

Using a general symmetry-based approach, we provide a classification of generic miniband structures for electrons in graphene placed on substrates with the hexagonal Bravais symmetry. In particular, we identify conditions at which the first moire miniband is separated from the rest of the spectrum by either one or a group of three isolated mini Dirac points and is not obscured by dispersion surfaces coming from other minibands. In such cases, the Hall coefficient exhibits two distinct alternations of its sign as a function of charge carrier density.

Silicane and germanane: tight-binding and first- principles studies

We present a first-principles and tight-binding model study of silicane and germanane, the hydrogenated derivatives of two-dimensional silicene and germanene. We find that the materials are stable in freestanding form, analyse the orbital composition, and derive a tight-binding model using first-principles calculations to fit the parameters.

Dirac edges of fractal magnetic minibands in graphene with hexagonal moiré superlattices

We find a systematic reappearance of massive Dirac features at the edges of consecutive minibands formed at magnetic fields B_{p/q}=\frac{p}{q}\phi_0/S providing rational magnetic flux through a unit cell of the moire superlattice created by a hexagonal substrate for electrons in graphene. The Dirac-type features in the minibands at B=B_{p/q} determine a hierarchy of gaps in the surrounding fractal spectrum, and show that these minibands have topological insulator properties. Using the additional q-fold degeneracy of magnetic minibands at B_{p/q}, we trace the hierarchy of the gaps to their manifestation in the form of incompressible states upon variation of the carrier density and magnetic field.

Moiré superlattice effects in graphene/boron-nitride van der Waals heterostructures

Van der Waals heterostructures of graphene and hexagonal boron nitride feature a moire superlattice for graphenes Dirac electrons. Here, we review the effects generated by this superlattice, including a specific miniband structure featuring gaps and secondary Dirac points, and a fractal spectrum of magnetic minibands known as Hofstadters butterfly.

Resonant tunnelling between the chiral Landau states of twisted graphene lattices

A class of multilayered functional materials has recently emerged in which the component atomic layers are held together by weak van der Waals forces that preserve the structural integrity and physical properties of each layer. An exemplar of such a structure is a transistor device in which relativistic Dirac fermions can resonantly tunnel through a boron nitride barrier, a few atomic layers thick, sandwiched between two graphene electrodes. An applied magnetic field quantizes graphene’s gapless conduction and valence band states into discrete Landau levels, allowing us to resolve individual inter-Landau-level transitions and thereby demonstrate that the energy, momentum and chiral properties of the electrons are conserved in the tunnelling process. We also demonstrate that the change in the semiclassical cyclotron trajectories, following an inter-layer tunnelling event, is analogous to the case of intra-layer Klein tunnelling. For small twist angles, electrons can resonantly tunnel between graphene layers in a van der Waals heterostructure. It is now shown that the tunnelling not only preserves energy and momentum, but also the chirality of electronic states.

Infrared absorption by graphene–hBN heterostructures

We propose a theory of optical absorption in monolayer graphene–hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) heterostructures. In highly oriented heterostructures, the hBN underlay produces a long-range moire superlattice potential for the graphene electrons which modifies the selection rules for absorption of incoming photons in the infrared to visible frequency range. The details of the absorption spectrum modification depend on the relative strength of the various symmetry-allowed couplings between the graphene electrons and the hBN, and the resulting nature of the reconstructed band structure.

Heterostructures of bilayer graphene and h-BN: Interplay between misalignment, interlayer asymmetry, and trigonal warping

We study the superlattice minibands produced by the interplay between a moire pattern induced by a hexagonal BN substrate on a graphene layer and the interlayer coupling in bilayer graphene with Bernal stacking (BLG). We compare moire miniband features and zero-energy gaps in BLG, where they are affected by the interlayer asymmetry of BLG/h-BN heterostructure and trigonal warping characteristic for electrons in Bernal-stacked bilayers, with those found in monolayer graphene.

Moiré pattern as a magnifying glass for strain and dislocations in van der Waals heterostructures.

We consider the role of deformations in graphene heterostructures with hexagonal crystals (including strain, wrinkles and dislocations) on the geometrical properties of moiré patterns characteristic for a pair of two incommensurate misaligned isostructural crystals. By employing a phenomenological theory to describe generic moiré perturbations in van der Waals heterostructures of graphene and hexagonal crystals we investigate the electronic properties of such heterostructures.