Imaging the sub-moiré potential using an atomic single electron transistor

Abstract

Electrons in solids owe their properties to the periodic potential landscapes they experience. The advent of moiré lattices has revolutionized our ability to engineer such landscapes on nanometre scales, leading to numerous ground-breaking discoveries. Despite this progress, direct imaging of these electrostatic potential landscapes remains elusive. Here we introduce the atomic single electron transistor (SET), a new scanning probe that uses a single atomic defect in a van der Waals material as an ultrasensitive, high-resolution potential sensor. Built on the quantum twisting microscope (QTM) platform1, this probe leverages the capability of the QTM to form a pristine, scannable two-dimensional interface between vdW heterostructures. Using the atomic SET, we present the first direct images of the electrostatic potential in a canonical moiré interface: graphene aligned to hexagonal boron nitride2–10. The measured potential exhibits an approximate C6 symmetry, minimal dependence on carrier density and a substantial amplitude of approximately 60 mV, even in the absence of carriers. Theory indicates that this symmetry arises from a delicate interplay of physical mechanisms with competing symmetries. The measured amplitude significantly exceeds theoretical predictions, suggesting that current understanding may be incomplete. With 1 nm spatial resolution and sensitivity to detect the potential of even a few millionths of an electron charge, the atomic SET enables ultrasensitive imaging of charge order and thermodynamic properties across a wide range of quantum phenomena, including symmetry-broken phases, quantum crystals, vortex charges and fractionalized quasiparticles. An atomic single electron transistor, which utilizes a single atomic defect in a van der Waals material as an ultrasensitive, high-resolution potential sensor, is used to image the electrostatic potential within a moiré unit cell.

Topics & Concepts