Observation of ferromagnetic phase in the second moiré band of twisted MoTe2

Abstract Flat bands and electron correlation in moiré lattices give rise to many exotic phases, including Mott insulators, superconductivity, and topological states. Within the first moiré band, integer and fractional quantum anomalous Hall effects have been observed in twisted bilayer MoTe2 (tMoTe2...

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Main Authors: Liheng An, Haiyang Pan, Wen-Xuan Qiu, Naizhou Wang, Shihao Ru, Qinghai Tan, Xuran Dai, Xiangbin Cai, Qiuyu Shang, Xiufang Lu, Hao Jiang, Xiaodan Lyu, Shunshun Yang, Kenji Watanabe, Takashi Taniguchi, Fengcheng Wu, Wei-bo Gao
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2025-06-01
Series:Nature Communications
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-59691-5
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author Liheng An
Haiyang Pan
Wen-Xuan Qiu
Naizhou Wang
Shihao Ru
Qinghai Tan
Xuran Dai
Xiangbin Cai
Qiuyu Shang
Xiufang Lu
Hao Jiang
Xiaodan Lyu
Shunshun Yang
Kenji Watanabe
Takashi Taniguchi
Fengcheng Wu
Wei-bo Gao
author_facet Liheng An
Haiyang Pan
Wen-Xuan Qiu
Naizhou Wang
Shihao Ru
Qinghai Tan
Xuran Dai
Xiangbin Cai
Qiuyu Shang
Xiufang Lu
Hao Jiang
Xiaodan Lyu
Shunshun Yang
Kenji Watanabe
Takashi Taniguchi
Fengcheng Wu
Wei-bo Gao
author_sort Liheng An
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Flat bands and electron correlation in moiré lattices give rise to many exotic phases, including Mott insulators, superconductivity, and topological states. Within the first moiré band, integer and fractional quantum anomalous Hall effects have been observed in twisted bilayer MoTe2 (tMoTe2) at one hole doping and fractional doping per moiré unit cell, respectively. When the second moiré band is fully hole doped, quantum spin Hall insulator has also been reported in tMoTe2 at a certain twist angle. Exotic topological states together with ferromagnetic (FM) states in the high moiré band can potentially exist as well. In this study, we report the observation of a FM phase in the second moiré band in tMoTe2. The FM phase can be tuned by both the doping level and displacement field. At filling around 2.58 holes per moiré unit cell, the FM phase reaches a Curie temperature of 3.5 K. A large displacement field can suppress the FM phase, like the FM phase at the filling of −1. Our results demonstrate the realization of time-reversal symmetry-breaking states in the higher moiré bands in tMoTe2.
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series Nature Communications
spelling doaj-art-ebb4aa731d494ae59f81c8b4a963f9c82025-08-20T02:05:38ZengNature PortfolioNature Communications2041-17232025-06-011611710.1038/s41467-025-59691-5Observation of ferromagnetic phase in the second moiré band of twisted MoTe2Liheng An0Haiyang Pan1Wen-Xuan Qiu2Naizhou Wang3Shihao Ru4Qinghai Tan5Xuran Dai6Xiangbin Cai7Qiuyu Shang8Xiufang Lu9Hao Jiang10Xiaodan Lyu11Shunshun Yang12Kenji Watanabe13Takashi Taniguchi14Fengcheng Wu15Wei-bo Gao16Division of Physics and Applied Physics, School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Nanyang Technological UniversityDivision of Physics and Applied Physics, School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Nanyang Technological UniversitySchool of Physics and Technology, Wuhan UniversityDepartment of Physics, School of Science and Research Center for Industries of the Future, Westlake UniversityDivision of Physics and Applied Physics, School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Nanyang Technological UniversitySchool of microelectronics, University of Science and Technology of ChinaDivision of Physics and Applied Physics, School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Nanyang Technological UniversityDivision of Physics and Applied Physics, School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Nanyang Technological UniversityDivision of Physics and Applied Physics, School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Nanyang Technological UniversityDivision of Physics and Applied Physics, School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Nanyang Technological UniversityDivision of Physics and Applied Physics, School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Nanyang Technological UniversityDivision of Physics and Applied Physics, School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Nanyang Technological UniversityDivision of Physics and Applied Physics, School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Nanyang Technological UniversityResearch Center for Electronic and Optical Materials, National Institute for Materials ScienceResearch Center for Materials Nanoarchitectonics, National Institute for Materials ScienceSchool of Physics and Technology, Wuhan UniversityDivision of Physics and Applied Physics, School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Nanyang Technological UniversityAbstract Flat bands and electron correlation in moiré lattices give rise to many exotic phases, including Mott insulators, superconductivity, and topological states. Within the first moiré band, integer and fractional quantum anomalous Hall effects have been observed in twisted bilayer MoTe2 (tMoTe2) at one hole doping and fractional doping per moiré unit cell, respectively. When the second moiré band is fully hole doped, quantum spin Hall insulator has also been reported in tMoTe2 at a certain twist angle. Exotic topological states together with ferromagnetic (FM) states in the high moiré band can potentially exist as well. In this study, we report the observation of a FM phase in the second moiré band in tMoTe2. The FM phase can be tuned by both the doping level and displacement field. At filling around 2.58 holes per moiré unit cell, the FM phase reaches a Curie temperature of 3.5 K. A large displacement field can suppress the FM phase, like the FM phase at the filling of −1. Our results demonstrate the realization of time-reversal symmetry-breaking states in the higher moiré bands in tMoTe2.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-59691-5
spellingShingle Liheng An
Haiyang Pan
Wen-Xuan Qiu
Naizhou Wang
Shihao Ru
Qinghai Tan
Xuran Dai
Xiangbin Cai
Qiuyu Shang
Xiufang Lu
Hao Jiang
Xiaodan Lyu
Shunshun Yang
Kenji Watanabe
Takashi Taniguchi
Fengcheng Wu
Wei-bo Gao
Observation of ferromagnetic phase in the second moiré band of twisted MoTe2
Nature Communications
title Observation of ferromagnetic phase in the second moiré band of twisted MoTe2
title_full Observation of ferromagnetic phase in the second moiré band of twisted MoTe2
title_fullStr Observation of ferromagnetic phase in the second moiré band of twisted MoTe2
title_full_unstemmed Observation of ferromagnetic phase in the second moiré band of twisted MoTe2
title_short Observation of ferromagnetic phase in the second moiré band of twisted MoTe2
title_sort observation of ferromagnetic phase in the second moire band of twisted mote2
url https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-59691-5
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