Signatures of Flexoelectric Polar Vortex Superstructure and Electronic-Correlation-Modulated Screening in a Double-Moiré System
Nanoscale polar structures are essential for understanding polarization processes in low-dimensional systems and offer exciting prospects for high-performance electronics. Here, we reveal the signatures of a flexoelectric polar vortex superstructure in twisted bilayer graphene aligned with hexagonal boron nitride (TBG/hBN), where strong coupling between two moiré patterns induces pronounced structural relaxation. Scanning tunneling microscopy uncovers moiré-scale flat-band bending, distinct from domain-wall-confined polarization in minimally twisted graphene. Theoretical simulations demonstrate that the lowering of point-group symmetry plays a crucial role and indicate that the in-plane polarization field forms an array of polar vortices. Moreover, near the magic angle, the polarization becomes highly gate-tunable and couples to electron correlations, leading to spatially modulated correlated gaps. Our findings establish the coupling of multiple moiré patterns as a powerful strategy for engineering nanoscale polar structures and emergent quantum states.
Authors
- Aisheng Song (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2193-4289)
- J. Mao
- K. Watanabe
- Yucheng Xue
- Y. Q. Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0006-7644-7150)
- T. Taniguchi
- Zhen Xu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7011-3236)
- Tianbao Ma (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8016-9241)
- Yu Jiang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5580-1022)
- Shaoqing XU
- Yingzhuo Han
- Zhengwen Wang
- Jiawang Hong
- Zhongrui Wang
Institutions
- Beijing Institute of Technology (CN)
- Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN)
- National Institute for Materials Science (JP)
- Institute of Molecular Functional Materials (CN)
- Integrated Optoelectronics (Norway) (NO)
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN)
- Tsinghua University (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Nano Letters
- Published
- 2026-04-13
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.nanolett.6c00274
- Primary Topic
- Nonlocal and gradient elasticity in micro/nano structures
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology
- National Natural Science Foundation of China
- China Postdoctoral Science Foundation
- National Key Research and Development Program of China
- Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities