Switchable moiré potentials in ferroelectric WTe 2 /WSe 2 superlattices.
Kaifei KangWenjin ZhaoYihang ZengKenji WatanabeTakashi TaniguchiJie ShanKin Fai MakPublished in: Nature nanotechnology (2023)
Moiré materials with superlattice periodicity many times the atomic length scale have shown strong electronic correlations and band topology with unprecedented tunability. Non-volatile control of the moiré potentials could allow on-demand switching of superlattice effects but has remained challenging to achieve. Here we demonstrate the switching of the correlated and moiré band insulating states, and the associated nonlinear anomalous Hall effect, by the ferroelectric effect. This is achieved in a ferroelectric WTe 2 bilayer of the T d structure with a centred-rectangular moiré superlattice induced by interfacing with a WSe 2 monolayer of the H structure. The results can be understood in terms of polarization-dependent charge transfer between two WTe 2 monolayers, in which the interfacial layer has a much stronger moiré potential depth; ferroelectric switching thus turns on and off the moiré insulating states. Our study demonstrates the potential for creating new functional moiré materials by incorporating intrinsic symmetry-breaking orders.
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