Spin-orbit coupling effects in proximitised bilayer graphene/TMD nanostructures
ORAL · Invited
Abstract
Combining different two-dimensional materials into heterostructures offers the exciting possibility to enhance a material's properties via the proximity effect, a phenomenon where the properties of one material are modified by the presence of another in close proximity. This effect has been shown to significantly alter the electronic and magnetic properties of materials, making it a promising avenue for material design and engineering.
Here, we theoretically study gate-defined nanostructures in bilayer graphene proximitised with different transition-metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) [1]. We extend our numerical tools previously used for modelling nanostructures in pristine bilayer graphene [2-5] to include proximity-induced Rashba and intrinsic spin-orbit coupling effects renormalised due to the presence of the TMDs. For one-dimensional confinement (quantum wires) and zero-dimensional confinement (quantum dots), we investigate how the spin-orbit coupling effects in the confined structure depend on such factors as the nanostructure's dimensionality, size, and shape. We find that the spin-orbit coupling effects in the bilayer graphene/TMD nanostructures are highly tunable by tuning the confined wave function. Such tunability offers promising routes for designing nanostructures with tailor-made spin-orbit coupling properties.
[1] Gerber, J.D., Ensslin, K., Knothe, A., et al., Nano Lett. 25, 33, 12480 (2025)
[2] Knothe, A. and Fal’ko, V., Phys. Rev. B 98, 155435 (2018)
[3] Knothe, A. and Fal’ko, V., Phys. Rev. B 101, 235423 (2020)
[4] Lee, Y., Knothe, A., Fal’ko, V., Ihn, T., Ensslin, K., Rickhaus, P., et al., Phys. Rev. Letters 124, 126802 (2020)
[5] Möller, S., Banszerus, L., Knothe, A., Stampfer, C., et al., Phys. Rev. B 108, 125128 (2023)
Here, we theoretically study gate-defined nanostructures in bilayer graphene proximitised with different transition-metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) [1]. We extend our numerical tools previously used for modelling nanostructures in pristine bilayer graphene [2-5] to include proximity-induced Rashba and intrinsic spin-orbit coupling effects renormalised due to the presence of the TMDs. For one-dimensional confinement (quantum wires) and zero-dimensional confinement (quantum dots), we investigate how the spin-orbit coupling effects in the confined structure depend on such factors as the nanostructure's dimensionality, size, and shape. We find that the spin-orbit coupling effects in the bilayer graphene/TMD nanostructures are highly tunable by tuning the confined wave function. Such tunability offers promising routes for designing nanostructures with tailor-made spin-orbit coupling properties.
[1] Gerber, J.D., Ensslin, K., Knothe, A., et al., Nano Lett. 25, 33, 12480 (2025)
[2] Knothe, A. and Fal’ko, V., Phys. Rev. B 98, 155435 (2018)
[3] Knothe, A. and Fal’ko, V., Phys. Rev. B 101, 235423 (2020)
[4] Lee, Y., Knothe, A., Fal’ko, V., Ihn, T., Ensslin, K., Rickhaus, P., et al., Phys. Rev. Letters 124, 126802 (2020)
[5] Möller, S., Banszerus, L., Knothe, A., Stampfer, C., et al., Phys. Rev. B 108, 125128 (2023)
*A.K. acknowledges support from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) within DFG Individual Grants KN 1383/4, KN 1383/7, and SFB 1277 (Project-ID 314695032).
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Presenters
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Angelika Knothe