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Main Authors: Meril, Eli, Ghorai, Unmesh, Holder, Tobias, Bistritzer, Rafi
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
Subjects:
Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2507.04399
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author Meril, Eli
Ghorai, Unmesh
Holder, Tobias
Bistritzer, Rafi
author_facet Meril, Eli
Ghorai, Unmesh
Holder, Tobias
Bistritzer, Rafi
contents We introduce a new class of tunable periodic structures, formed by launching two obliquely propagating surface acoustic waves on a piezoelectric substrate that supports a two-dimensional quantum material. The resulting acoustoelectric superlattice exhibits two salient features. First, its periodicity is widely tunable, spanning a length scale intermediate between moiré superlattices and optical lattices, enabling the formation of narrow, topologically nontrivial energy bands. Second, unlike moiré systems, where the superlattice amplitude is set by intrinsic interlayer tunneling and lattice relaxation, the amplitude of the acoustoelectric potential is externally tunable via the surface acoustic wave power. Using massive monolayer graphene as an example, we demonstrate that varying the frequencies and power of the surface acoustic waves enables in-situ control over the band structure of the 2D material, generating flat bands and nontrivial valley Chern numbers, featuring a highly localized Berry curvature.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2507_04399
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Miniband Generation by Surface Acoustic Waves
Meril, Eli
Ghorai, Unmesh
Holder, Tobias
Bistritzer, Rafi
Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics
We introduce a new class of tunable periodic structures, formed by launching two obliquely propagating surface acoustic waves on a piezoelectric substrate that supports a two-dimensional quantum material. The resulting acoustoelectric superlattice exhibits two salient features. First, its periodicity is widely tunable, spanning a length scale intermediate between moiré superlattices and optical lattices, enabling the formation of narrow, topologically nontrivial energy bands. Second, unlike moiré systems, where the superlattice amplitude is set by intrinsic interlayer tunneling and lattice relaxation, the amplitude of the acoustoelectric potential is externally tunable via the surface acoustic wave power. Using massive monolayer graphene as an example, we demonstrate that varying the frequencies and power of the surface acoustic waves enables in-situ control over the band structure of the 2D material, generating flat bands and nontrivial valley Chern numbers, featuring a highly localized Berry curvature.
title Miniband Generation by Surface Acoustic Waves
topic Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2507.04399