Engineering topological excitations in twisted bilayer graphene

Abstract

Twisted bilayer graphene (TBG), with rotational misalignment of 1.1 degrees, hosts numerous superconducting and correlated-insulating electronic phases. This project plans to use the rich phase diagram of TBG for exploring properties of electrostatically defined boundary modes in this and related strongly correlated electronic systems. The long-term goal of this research line is to establish a platform that will allow for creating topologically protected Majorana zero modes that are expected to localize at the edges of a one-dimensional (1D) topological superconductor. In this context, TBG possibly offers unprecedented advantages compared to other Majorana platforms, as it allows for tuning between insulating, metallic, and superconducting phases, as well as creating boundaries between them, simply by locally controlling the electronic doping. Using scanning tunneling microscopy and transport measurements, we aim to develop experimental protocols to detect unambiguous signatures of Majorana modes in this system and probe their basic properties.

Document Details

Document Type
DoD Grant Award
Publication Date
Jun 09, 2021
Source ID
N000142112635

Entities

People

  • Stevan Nadj-Perge

Organizations

  • California Institute of Technology
  • Office of Naval Research
  • United States Navy

Tags

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Control Systems Engineering.
  • Nanoscale Plasmonic Nanotechnology
  • Quantum Dot Semiconductor Device Photonics and Graphene Optoelectronic Materials and THz Physics.

Technology Areas

  • Microelectronics
  • Microelectronics - Graphene