Sublattice symmetry breaking and ultra low energy excitations in Graphene-on-hBN Heterostructures

Abstract

The low-lying states of graphene contain exciting topological properties that depend on the interplay of different symmetry breaking terms. The corresponding energy gaps remained unexplored until recently, owing to the low energy scale of the terms involved (few tens of ueV). These low energy terms include sublattice splitting, the Rashba and the intrinsic spin-orbit coupling, whose balance determines the topological properties. In this work, we unravel the contributions arising from the sublattice and the intrinsic spin orbit splitting in graphene on hexagonal boron-nitride. Employing resistively-detected electron spin resonance, we measure a sublattice splitting of the order of 20E-6 eV, and confirm an intrinsic spin orbit coupling of approximately 45E-6 eV. The dominance of the latter suggests a topologically non-trivial state, involving fascinating properties. Electron spin resonance is a promising route towards unveiling the intriguing band structure at low energy scales.

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• The electronic properties of graphene
• Boron nitride substrates for high-quality graphene electronics
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• Origin of band gaps in graphene on hexagonal boron nitride
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• Temperature Dependent Zero-Field Splittings in Graphene
• Atomistic theory of moiré Hofstadter's butterfly in magic-angle graphene
• Dirac imprints on the $g$-factor anisotropy in graphene
• Electric-field independent spin-orbit coupling gap in hBN-encapsulated bilayer graphene
• Nuclear-induced dephasing and signatures of hyperfine effects in isotopically purified ${}^{13}$C graphene
• Polarization amplification by spin-doping in nanomagnetic/graphene hybrid systems
• Spin-dependent photovoltage in graphene/MoS2-based field-effect transistors