Elastic properties of moiré lattices in epitaxial two-dimensional materials

Alexandre Artaud (1, 2) , Nicolas Rougemaille (3) , Sergio Vlaic (4) , Vincent Renard (2) , Nicolae Atodiresei (5) , Johann Coraux (1)

1 NEEL - Quan2m - Interactions modulables dans des états quantiques 2D
2 LaTEQS - Laboratoire de Transport Electronique Quantique et Supraconductivité
3 NEEL - MNM - Micro et NanoMagnétisme
4 LPEM - Laboratoire de Physique et d'Etude des Matériaux (UMR 8213)
5 FZJ - Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH | Centre de recherche de Jülich | Jülich Research Centre

Unlike conventional two-dimensional (2D) semiconductor superlattices, moiré patterns in 2D materials are flexible and their electronic, magnetic, optical, and mechanical properties depend on their topography. Within a continuous +atomistic theory treating 2D materials as crystalline elastic membranes, we abandon the flat-membrane scenario usually assumed for these materials and address out-of-plane deformations. We confront our predictions to experimental analyses on model systems, epitaxial graphene, and MoS2 on metals and reveal that compression/expansion and bending energies stored in the membrane can compete with adhesion energy, leading to a subtle moiré wavelength selection and the formation of wrinkles.

Domaines: Science des matériaux [cond-mat.mtrl-sci]

Alexandre Artaud, Nicolas Rougemaille, Sergio Vlaic, Vincent Renard, Nicolae Atodiresei, et al.. Elastic properties of moiré lattices in epitaxial two-dimensional materials. Physical Review B, 2022, 106 (20), pp.L201402. ⟨10.1103/PhysRevB.106.L201402⟩. ⟨hal-03841251⟩