Публикации

We report on high-field magnetotransport (B up to 35 T) on a gated superlattice based on single-layer graphene aligned on top of hexagonal boron nitride. The large-period moiré modulation (≈15 nm) enables us to access the Hofstadter spectrum in the vicinity of and above one flux quantum per superlattice unit cell (Φ/Φ0=1 at B=22 T). We thereby reveal, in addition to the spin-valley antiferromagnet at ν=0, two insulating states developing in positive and negative effective magnetic fields from the main ν=1 and ν=−2 quantum Hall states, respectively. We investigate the field dependence of the energy gaps associated with these insulating states, which we quantify from the temperature-activated peak resistance. Referring to a simple model of local Landau quantization of third-generation Dirac fermions arising at Φ/Φ0=1, we describe the different microscopic origins of the insulating states and experimentally determine the energy-momentum dispersion of the emergent gapped Dirac quasiparticles.

Despite a rich choice of two-dimensional materials, which exists these days, heterostructures, both vertical (van der Waals) and in-plane, offer an unprecedented control over the properties and functionalities of the resulted structures. Thus, planar heterostructures allow p-n junctions between different two-dimensional semiconductors and graphene nanoribbons with well-defined edges; and vertical heterostructures resulted in the observation of superconductivity in purely carbon-based systems and realisation of vertical tunnelling transistors. Here we demonstrate simultaneous use of in-plane and van der Waals heterostructures to build vertical single electron tunnelling transistors. We grow graphene quantum dots inside the matrix of hexagonal boron nitride, which allows a dramatic reduction of the number of localised states along the perimeter of the quantum dots. The use of hexagonal boron nitride tunnel barriers as contacts to the graphene quantum dots make our transistors reproducible and not dependent on the localised states, opening even larger flexibility when designing future devices.

We propose a method of measuring low concentrations of fluorescent molecules located in a small volume of a liquid solvent (about 5 μl) based on the Ebbesen effect of the extraordinary transmission (EOT) of light through a state-of-the-art plasmonic crystal formed by a nanohole array perforated in the ultra-high-quality Ag film. In the method, the EOT effect is realized at the fluorescence wavelength of the detected molecules with a low transmission of light at the absorption wavelength. This approach enables the realization of high level sensor sensitivity approaching a sensitivity level of single molecules counting sensors, owing to the suppression of the sensor substrate’s inevitable parasitic luminescence. The proposed method was successfully demonstrated by detection an ultra-low concentration of Cy-5 fluorescent markers in a dimethyl sulfoxide solution corresponding to less than 1000 molecules in the sensor detection volume.