Layer-engineered quantum anomalous Hall effect in twisted rhombohedral graphene

Zhangyuan Chen; Naitian Liu; Jiannan Hua; Hanxiao Xiang; Wenqiang Zhou; Jing Ding; Xinjie Fang; Linfeng Wu; Le Zhang; Qianmei Chen; Xuanyu Chen; Kenji Watanabe; Takashi Taniguchi; Na Xin; Wei Zhu; Shuigang Xu

doi:10.1038/s41563-026-02711-6

arXiv · 2601.14014

Layer-engineered quantum anomalous Hall effect in twisted rhombohedral graphene

Zhangyuan Chen·Naitian Liu·Jiannan Hua·Hanxiao Xiang·Wenqiang Zhou·Jing Ding·Xinjie Fang·Linfeng Wu·Le Zhang·Qianmei Chen·Xuanyu Chen·Kenji Watanabe·Takashi Taniguchi·Na Xin·Wei Zhu·Shuigang Xu

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Abstract

Realizing programmable topological states in quantum anomalous Hall (QAH) insulators requires the ability to design and dynamically tune their topological invariant, the Chern number C. Here, we report a designer QAH platform based on twisted rhombohedral graphene family, in which C becomes a programmable and electrically tunable degree of freedom. By engineering the layer configuration in twisted monolayer-rhombohedral N-layer graphene, denoted as (1+N)L, we realize QAH states with C=N at moire filling v=1, where the layer number N=3,4,5 directly sets the Chern number. Beyond such static layer programming, we demonstrate in-situ electrical control. In a twisted monolayer-trilayer device, the sign of C (chirality) can be switched by electrostatic doping or displacement field. Most strikingly, in twisted Bernal bilayer-rhombohedral tetralayer graphene denoted as (2+4)L, we drive a displacement-field-induced topological phase transition between two distinct QAH states with C=3 and C=4 in a single device. Our work establishes a layer-engineered and electrically tunable platform that transitions topological quantum matter from discovery to design, opening the way toward on-demand engineering of correlated topological states and reconfigurable topological electronics.

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Zhangyuan Chen, Naitian Liu, Jiannan Hua, Hanxiao Xiang, Wenqiang Zhou, Jing Ding, Xinjie Fang, Linfeng Wu, Le Zhang, Qianmei Chen, Xuanyu Chen, Kenji Watanabe, Takashi Taniguchi, Na Xin, Wei Zhu, Shuigang Xu. 2026-01-20. Layer-engineered quantum anomalous Hall effect in twisted rhombohedral graphene. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41563-026-02711-6

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