Confinement of superconductivity into quasi-one-dimensional channels by a super-Moiré crystal

The precise spatial engineering of quantum phases stands as a major challenge in condensed matter physics, with profound implications for fundamental science and quantum technologies. While moiré heterostructures have enabled remarkable tunability on the correlated states, the deterministic spatial manipulation of emergent quantum phases like superconductivity and magnetism remains an open challenge. Here, we investigate hexagonal boron nitride (hBN)-aligned twisted bilayer graphene (TBG), in which fabrication-induced uniaxial heterostrain gives rise to a periodic quasi-one-dimensional (1D) super-moiré supercell. This supercell imprints a striking chain-like architecture onto the electronic states. Using atomic-scale spectroscopy and point-contact Andreev reflection, we demonstrate that intrinsic superconductivity arising from TBG emerges exclusively within these nanoscale channels, a phenomenon unprecedented in other quantum materials. Furthermore, we show that the superconducting state is governed by the local inversion symmetry, which can be deliberately tuned via the moiré registry with the hBN substrate. This work establishes a structural approach to atomically pattern quantum phases, bridging the gap between nanoscale symmetry control and macroscopic quantum functionality. Our results position super-moiré lattices as a programmable platform for quantum phase design, opening routes to explore exotic dimensionality crossovers in correlated electron systems. Spatially patterning emergent quantum phases remains challenging. Here, atomic-scale spectroscopy and Andreev reflection show that a strain-induced super-moiré in hBN-aligned twisted bilayer graphene confines superconductivity to quasi-one-dimensional channels governed by local inversion symmetry.

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Publication Details

Journal
Nature Communications
Published
2026-08-20
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-77046-6
Primary Topic
Organic and Molecular Conductors Research
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

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article

Confinement of superconductivity into quasi-one-dimensional channels by a super-Moiré crystal

施杰飞, Shixuan Du, Jinhai Mao, Takashi Taniguchi et al.
Nature Communications
Organic and Molecular Conductors Research
article

Confinement of superconductivity into quasi-one-dimensional channels by a super-Moiré crystal

施杰飞, Shixuan Du, Jinhai Mao, Takashi Taniguchi, Kenji Watanabe, Yugui Yao, Lu Cao, Zhengwen Wang, Yuhang Jiang, Yingzhuo Han, Chengmin Shen, Ziyi Tian, Si-yu Li, Yingbo Wang, Jian Kang, Xiaomeng Wang
article en

Abstract

The precise spatial engineering of quantum phases stands as a major challenge in condensed matter physics, with profound implications for fundamental science and quantum technologies. While moiré heterostructures have enabled remarkable tunability on the correlated states, the deterministic spatial manipulation of emergent quantum phases like superconductivity and magnetism remains an open challenge. Here, we investigate hexagonal boron nitride (hBN)-aligned twisted bilayer graphene (TBG), in which fabrication-induced uniaxial heterostrain gives rise to a periodic quasi-one-dimensional (1D) super-moiré supercell. This supercell imprints a striking chain-like architecture onto the electronic states. Using atomic-scale spectroscopy and point-contact Andreev reflection, we demonstrate that intrinsic superconductivity arising from TBG emerges exclusively within these nanoscale channels, a phenomenon unprecedented in other quantum materials. Furthermore, we show that the superconducting state is governed by the local inversion symmetry, which can be deliberately tuned via the moiré registry with the hBN substrate. This work establishes a structural approach to atomically pattern quantum phases, bridging the gap between nanoscale symmetry control and macroscopic quantum functionality. Our results position super-moiré lattices as a programmable platform for quantum phase design, opening routes to explore exotic dimensionality crossovers in correlated electron systems. Spatially patterning emergent quantum phases remains challenging. Here, atomic-scale spectroscopy and Andreev reflection show that a strain-induced super-moiré in hBN-aligned twisted bilayer graphene confines superconductivity to quasi-one-dimensional channels governed by local inversion symmetry.

Nature Communications
Beijing Institute of Technology (CN), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN), National Institute for Materials Science (JP), ShanghaiTech University (CN), Soochow University (CN), Institute of Physics (CN), National Laboratory for Superconductivity (CN), University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN)
National Natural Science Foundation of China, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities
Openalex Percentile: Top 26%
Organic and Molecular Conductors Research
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