Nature Communications (Oct 2024)

Engineering band structures of two-dimensional materials with remote moiré ferroelectricity

  • Jing Ding,
  • Hanxiao Xiang,
  • Wenqiang Zhou,
  • Naitian Liu,
  • Qianmei Chen,
  • Xinjie Fang,
  • Kangyu Wang,
  • Linfeng Wu,
  • Kenji Watanabe,
  • Takashi Taniguchi,
  • Na Xin,
  • Shuigang Xu

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-53440-w
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 15, no. 1
pp. 1 – 8

Abstract

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Abstract The stacking order and twist angle provide abundant opportunities for engineering band structures of two-dimensional materials, including the formation of moiré bands, flat bands, and topologically nontrivial bands. The inversion symmetry breaking in rhombohedral-stacked transitional metal dichalcogenides endows them with an interfacial ferroelectricity associated with an out-of-plane electric polarization. By utilizing twist angle as a knob to construct rhombohedral-stacked transitional metal dichalcogenides, antiferroelectric domain networks with alternating out-of-plane polarization can be generated. Here, we demonstrate that such spatially periodic ferroelectric polarizations in parallel-stacked twisted WSe2 can imprint their moiré potential onto a remote bilayer graphene. This remote moiré potential gives rise to pronounced satellite resistance peaks besides the charge-neutrality point in graphene, which are tunable by the twist angle of WSe2. Our observations of ferroelectric hysteresis at finite displacement fields suggest the moiré is delivered by a long-range electrostatic potential. The constructed superlattices by moiré ferroelectricity represent a highly flexible approach, as they involve the separation of the moiré construction layer from the electronic transport layer. This remote moiré is identified as a weak potential and can coexist with conventional moiré. Our results offer a comprehensive strategy for engineering band structures and properties of two-dimensional materials by utilizing moiré ferroelectricity.