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Tobias Rockinger

Publications and source records attributed to Tobias Rockinger.

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Tuning proximity-induced spin-orbit coupling in graphene/WSe$_{2}$ heterostructures

Recently, proximity-induced spin-orbit coupling (SOC) has been observed in heterostructures consisting of monolayer graphene (ML-G) and transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) such as WSe$_{2}$. Successful tuning of SOC in graphene/WSe$_{2}$ heterostructures by applying mechanical pressure and electric fields was also demonstrated in previous studies. In addition, theoretical calculations predicted a strong dependence of the proximity-induced SOC on the twist angle between graphene and TMDC. Here, we put these predictions to experimental test in ML-G/ML-WSe$_{2}$/hBN-heterostructures, where the twist angle is determined by aligning fractured edges, and by crystallographic etching of graphene. By performing weak anti-localization measurements, we determine the strength of the Rasbha-type SOC ($\lambda_\mathrm{R}$) and the valley-Zeeman-type SOC ($\lambda_\mathrm{VZ}$). Our experiments confirm a strong twist angle dependence of the proximity-induced SOC in agreement with theoretical predictions. Finally, we demonstrate the tunability of the SOC strength via mechanical pressure, which is in agreement with earlier findings.

cond-mat.mes-hall

Counterintuitive gate dependence of weak antilocalization in bilayer graphene/WSe$_2$ heterostructures

Strong gate control of proximity-induced spin-orbit coupling was recently predicted in bilayer graphene/transition metal dichalcogenides (BLG/TMDC) heterostructures, as charge carriers can easily be shifted between the two graphene layers, and only one of them is in close contact to the TMDC. The presence of spin-orbit coupling can be probed by weak antilocalization (WAL) in low field magnetotransport measurements. When the spin-orbit splitting in such a heterostructure increases with the out of plane electric displacement field $\bar D$, one intuitively expects a concomitant increase of WAL visibility. Our experiments show that this is not the case. Instead, we observe a maximum of WAL visibility around $\bar D=0$. This counterintuitive behaviour originates in the intricate dependence of WAL in graphene on symmetric and antisymmetric spin lifetimes, caused by the valley-Zeeman and Rashba terms, respectively. Our observations are confirmed by calculating spin precession and spin lifetimes from an $8\times 8$ model Hamiltonian of BLG/TMDC.

cond-mat.mes-hall

Magnetotransport in heterostructures of transition metal dichalcogenides and graphene

We use a van-der-Waals pickup technique to fabricate different heterostructures containing WSe$_2$(WS$_2$) and graphene. The heterostructures were structured by plasma etching, contacted by one-dimensional edge contacts and a topgate was deposited. For graphene/WSe$_2$/SiO$_2$ samples we observe mobilities of $\sim$12 000 cm$^2$/Vs. Magnetic field dependent resistance measurements on these samples show a peak in the conductivity at low magnetic field. This dip is attributed to the weak antilocalization (WAL) effect, stemming from spin-orbit coupling. Samples where graphene is encapsulated between WSe$_2$(WS$_2$) and hBN show a much higher mobility of up to $\sim$120 000 cm$^2$/Vs. However, in these samples no WAL peak can be observed. We attribute this to a transition from the diffusive to the quasiballistic regime. At low magnetic field a resistance peak appears, which we ascribe to a size effect, due to boundary scattering. Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations in fully encapsulated samples show all integer filling factors, due to complete lifting of the spin and valley degeneracy.

cond-mat.mes-hall