Testing steady-state Floquet engineering in graphene

Oral-In-person

Abstract

Strong light-matter interaction in graphene is predicted to induce Floquet-Bloch states which may also have non-trivial topology [1–4]. Such Floquet engineering of graphene has been predominantly explored using laser pulses, which generate transient, ultra-fast dynamics. Here we report on our transport measurements of  graphene on SiC irradiated by a continuous-wave  mid-infrared laser, using graphene Hall bars fabricated with a top gate that had high transmission in the mid-infrared range [5]. The photoresponse showed signatures of a long-lived Floquet phase, where a non-equilibrium electronic population is stabilized by the interplay of coherent photoexcitation and incoherent cooling via phonon scattering with different types of acoustic phonons  [6]. These results pave the way to investigations of steady Floquet physics in other types of graphene devices and substrates, including bottom-gated, hBN-encapsulated monolayer graphene and twisted bilayer graphene, to understand the role played by the substrate and the Moiré potential on Floquet physics and its stability.

[1] T. Oka, et.al. Ann.Rev. Cond. Matt. Phys., 10 (2019) 387-408.

[2] M.S. Rudner, et.al. Nat. Rev. Phys., 2 (2020) 229-244.

[3] Y.H. Wang, et.al., Science, 342 (2013) 453-457; F. Mahmood, et.al., Nat. Phys., 12 (2016) 306-U137; J.W. McIver, et.al.,, Nat.Phys., 16 (2020) 38–41.

[4] T. Oka, et.al., Phys.Rev.B, 79 (2009) 081406.

[5] Yijing Liu, et.al., Submitted for publication (2025).

[6] Y. Liu, et.al. Nat. Comm., 16 (2025) 2057.

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Publication: Y. Liu, C. Yang, G. Gaertner, J. Huckabee, A.V. Suslov, G. Refael, F. Nathan, C. Lewandowski, L.E.F. Foa Torres, I. Esin, P. Barbara, N.G. Kalugin, Nature Communications, 16 (2025) 2057.
Yijing Liu, DaVonne Henry, Taylor Terrones, Alexis J. Demirjian, Alexey Suslov, Valery Ortiz Jimenez, Ngoc Thanh Mai Tran, Curt A. Richter, Albert F. Rigosi, Amy Y. Liu, Nikolai G. Kalugin, Paola Barbara, Gate-assisted programmable molecular doping of epitaxial graphene devices. Submitted for publication (2025).

Presenters

  • Nikolai Kalugin

    • New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology

Authors

  • Nikolai Kalugin

    • New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology

  • YIJING LIU

    • Georgetown University

  • Christopher Yang

  • Shehan de Silva

    • Georgetown University

  • Zizhong Li

    • University of Wisconsin - Madison

  • Robert Boyd

  • DonDiego Rains

  • Alexey Suslov

    • National High Magnetic Field Laboratory

  • Gil Refael

    • Caltech

  • Frederick Nathan

  • Cyprian Lewandowski

    • National High Magnetic Field Laboratory

  • Luis E.F. Foa Torres

  • Iliya Esin

    • Bar-Ilan University

  • Daniel Rhodes

    • University of Wisconsin - Madison

  • Paola Barbara