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Local thermodynamics of correlated states in moiré materials

Scanning single-electron transistors as local thermodynamic probes of magic-angle graphene and moiré semiconductors — chemical potential, gaps and charge order, measured point by point.

Placeholder figure — replace with data from this project.
Placeholder figure — replace with data from this project.

Draft text — edit freely.

Stacking two-dimensional crystals with a small twist produces flat electronic bands in which interactions dominate, giving correlated insulators, magnetism and superconductivity. Transport reveals where these states occur; thermodynamics reveals what they are — how much energy it costs to add an electron, how large the gaps are, and what kind of excitation closes them.

Using a scanning single-electron transistor as a local electrometer, I measured the chemical potential of these systems directly, with the spatial resolution to separate intrinsic behaviour from twist-angle disorder.

Selected results

  • The many-body Hofstadter spectrum and flavour phase diagram of magic-angle twisted bilayer graphene
  • Spin skyrmion gaps, evidence that the correlated insulators are strong-coupling states
  • Correlated insulators and Hofstadter states in moiré semiconductors, including reentrant charge order

Approach

  • Scanning SET operating in a cryogen-free dilution refrigerator
  • Local chemical-potential and inverse-compressibility measurements in high magnetic fields
  • Close collaboration with theory