Twist angle physics in graphene based van der Waals heterostructures

In this thesis, I present my experimental work on twisted bilayer graphene, a van der Waals heterostructure consisting of two graphene sheets stack on top of each other. In particular, the twist angle is a new degree of freedom in this system, and has an important effect in the determination of its transport properties. The work presented will explore the twist-dependent physics in two regimes: the large twist angle and small twist angle regimes. In the large-twist angle limit, the two sheets have little interlayer interactions and are strongly decoupled, allowing us to put independent quantum Hall edge modes in both layers. We study the edge state interactions in this system, culminating in the formation of a quantum spin Hall state in twisted bilayer graphene. In the small twist angle limit, interlayer interactions are strong and the layers are strongly hybridized. Additionally, a new long-range moiré phenomenon emerges, and we study the effects of the interplay between moiré physics and interlayer interactions on its transport properties.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Physics.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2018

Author dc:creator

• Luo, Yuanhong, Ph. D. Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Pablo Jarillo-Herrero.

• Physics.

Statement dc:rights

• MIT theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed, downloaded, or printed from this source but further reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/119050

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/119050