Band structure engineering of 2D materials using 1D superlattice

Atomically thin 2D materials such as graphene provide promising new platforms to realize synthetic band structures by superlattice (SL) patterning. We exploit our recently developed technique of dielectric superlattices to pattern graphene with a 1D superlattice potential with periodicity as low as 47nm. We observe strong anisotropy in electrical transport features along directions parallel versus perpendicular to the SL basis vector. The main and mini Dirac points, induced by the SL potential, may be “flattened” at certain strengths of SL modulation, leading to an alternating sequence of resistance maxima and minima in the direction parallel to the SL basis vector. Our results establish a multitude of possibilities of band structure engineering on a 2D material under a 1D superlattice potential with possible applications in ballistic electron optics, van der Waal FETs, and plasmonics.