Mechanically reconfigurable quantum devices in a van der Waals heterostructures

Nanoscale electronic devices are generally static, with the material structure and geometry set during the fabrication process. In contrast, the unique low interfacial friction present in van der Waals (vdW) materials has been utilized to dynamically reconfigure layer overlap and orientation in vdW heterostructures to strongly modify its structure and physical properties in-situ.

Recently, we have shown that microscaled gold features deposited onto vdW materials also exhibit low sliding friction and applied this discovery to create lithographically defined mechanically reconfigurable structures. By arbitrarily patterning gold structures, we have developed techniques to manipulate and strongly grip vdW flakes while simultaneously providing electrical connection.

In this talk I will discuss our measurements on a reconfigurable graphene quantum point contact (QPC) device operated in the quantum hall regime. In this device, physically repositioning gold top gates defining the QPC mechanically modifies the electron confinement and tunes the edge mode tunnel coupling offering a wide range of control alongside traditional electrical tuning.

In addition, I will discuss our progress expanding our techniques to modify electron confinement in quantum dots as well as other manipulation experiments including in-situ straining, scanning probes, and twisting.