Scanning multi-modality microscopy of moiré quantum matter

ongoing

Moiré materials are a treasure of mind-blowing scope of phenomena, much of which is still to be discovered. Along with the great opportunities, perplexing experimental and theoretical challenges arise due to numerous degrees of freedom, strong interactions, instabilities, broad tunability, and high sensitivity to exact global and local parameters like twist angles, strain, alignment, screening, and disorder. As a result, each moiré device is a mini-universe with its own laws of physics, which cannot be fully unveiled without exploring and cross-correlating a multitude of its microscopic characteristics – an almost formidable task. The goal of this project is to develop a multi-modality nanoscale scanning probe that can image a wide variety of physical properties with record sensitivity on a single sample, including currents, potentials, compressibility, magnetization, Berry curvature, topological invariants, superfluid density, temperature, thermal conductivity, dissipation, work, and noise. This powerful tool, based on a hybrid superconducting quantum interference device on a tip, will then be applied to study moiré quantum matter over a broad range of variable parameters, including temperatures down to mK range, vector magnetic fields, carrier densities, displacement fields, and response to local potential perturbations. We will focus on moiré materials beyond the magic-angle twisted bilayer graphene, including multilayer and hybrid twisted van der Waals structures, which offer a fertile platform for realizing novel states of matter. We will address key open questions and provide nanoscale visualization and comprehension of the mechanisms governing the topology, Berry curvature, orbital magnetism, superconducting order parameter, topological magnetic textures, heat and charge transport, dissipation, and noise. This research will provide groundbreaking insight into the complexity and the beauty of the emergent multi-facet physics flourishing in moiré materials.