Spin-Conserving Resonant Tunneling in Twist-Controlled WSe<sub>2</sub>-hBN-WSe<sub>2</sub> Heterostructures.

Kim, Kyounghwan; Prasad, Nitin; Movva, Hema C P; Burg, G William; Wang, Yimeng; Larentis, Stefano; Taniguchi, Takashi; Watanabe, Kenji et al. · Nano Lett · 2018

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

We investigate interlayer tunneling in heterostructures consisting of two tungsten diselenide (WSe<sub>2</sub>) monolayers with controlled rotational alignment, and separated by hexagonal boron nitride. In samples where the two WSe<sub>2</sub> monolayers are rotationally aligned we observe resonant tunneling, manifested by a large conductance and negative differential resistance in the vicinity of zero interlayer bias, which stem from energy- and momentum-conserving tunneling. Because the spin-orbit coupling leads to coupled spin-valley degrees of freedom, the twist between the two WSe<sub>2</sub> monolayers allows us to probe the conservation of spin-valley degree of freedom in tunneling. In heterostructures where the two WSe<sub>2</sub> monolayers have a 180° relative twist, such that the Brillouin zone of one layer is aligned with the time-reversed Brillouin zone of the opposite layer, the resonant tunneling between the layers is suppressed. These findings provide evidence that, in addition to momentum, the spin-valley degree of freedom is also conserved in vertical transport.