Robust flat bands in twisted trilayer graphene moiré quasicrystals

Moiré structures formed by twisting three layers of graphene with two independent twist angles present an ideal platform for studying correlated quantum phenomena, as an infinite set of angle pairs is predicted to exhibit flat bands. Moreover, the two mutually incommensurate moiré patterns among the twisted trilayer graphene (TTG) can form highly tunable moiré quasicrystals. This enables us to extend correlated physics in periodic moiré crystals to quasiperiodic systems. However, direct local characterization of the structure of the moiré quasicrystals and of the resulting flat bands are still lacking, which is crucial to fundamental understanding and control of the correlated moiré physics. Here, we demonstrate the existence of flat bands in a series of TTGs with various twist angle pairs and show that the TTGs with different magic angle pairs are strikingly dissimilar in their atomic and electronic structures. The lattice relaxation and the interference between moiré patterns are highly dependent on the twist angles. Our direct spatial mappings, supported by theoretical calculations, reveal that the localization of the flat bands exhibits distinct symmetries in different regions of the moiré quasicrystals.

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Publication Details

Journal
Nature Communications
Published
2024-09-30
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-52784-7
Citations
19
Primary Topic
Quasicrystal Structures and Properties
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
2.23

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article

Robust flat bands in twisted trilayer graphene moiré quasicrystals

Zhen Zhan, Pierre A. Pantaleón, Takashi Taniguchi, Kenji Watanabe et al.
19 citations
Nature Communications
Quasicrystal Structures and Properties
2.23
article

Robust flat bands in twisted trilayer graphene moiré quasicrystals

Zhen Zhan, Pierre A. Pantaleón, Takashi Taniguchi, Kenji Watanabe, Lin He, F. Guinea, Jiaqi He, Chen-Yue Hao, Yaxin Zhao
article en
19 citations

Abstract

Moiré structures formed by twisting three layers of graphene with two independent twist angles present an ideal platform for studying correlated quantum phenomena, as an infinite set of angle pairs is predicted to exhibit flat bands. Moreover, the two mutually incommensurate moiré patterns among the twisted trilayer graphene (TTG) can form highly tunable moiré quasicrystals. This enables us to extend correlated physics in periodic moiré crystals to quasiperiodic systems. However, direct local characterization of the structure of the moiré quasicrystals and of the resulting flat bands are still lacking, which is crucial to fundamental understanding and control of the correlated moiré physics. Here, we demonstrate the existence of flat bands in a series of TTGs with various twist angle pairs and show that the TTGs with different magic angle pairs are strikingly dissimilar in their atomic and electronic structures. The lattice relaxation and the interference between moiré patterns are highly dependent on the twist angles. Our direct spatial mappings, supported by theoretical calculations, reveal that the localization of the flat bands exhibits distinct symmetries in different regions of the moiré quasicrystals.

Nature CommunicationsVol. 15(1)
Ikerbasque (ES), Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China (CN), National Institute for Materials Science (JP), Beijing Normal University (CN), IMDEA Nanoscience (ES), Kementerian Pendidikan Malaysia (MY), Donostia International Physics Center (ES)
European Commission, National Natural Science Foundation of China, Wuhan University, European Regional Development Fund, Agencia Estatal de Investigación, Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities
Openalex Percentile: Top 8%
Quasicrystal Structures and Properties
2.23
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