An electric field can switch graphene between magnetic and nonmagnetic states, and the state persists

Graphene’s most stable stacking, known as Bernal, is nonmagnetic. The less stable rhombohedral stacking hosts correlated and topological phases, including magnetism and superconductivity. The team used gate voltages to drive a transition between the two. In transport measurements on marginally twisted double-bilayer graphene samples, they saw bistable switching between a Bernal-dominated state and a mixed rhombohedral–Bernal state across a wide range of gate voltages. This was accompanied by switching between a nonmagnetic and a ferromagnetic phase.

Researchers at Cornell University, Stanford University, the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Stony Brook University and Japan’s National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS) have shown that an electric field can slide the layers of four-layer graphene into a different stacking arrangement and switch the material between nonmagnetic and magnetic states. The states persist after the voltage is removed.Graphene’s most stable stacking, known as Bernal, is nonmagnetic. The less stable rhombohedral stacking hosts correlated and topological phases, including magnetism and superconductivity. The team used gate voltages to drive a transition between the two. In transport measurements on marginally twisted double-bilayer graphene samples, they saw bistable switching between a Bernal-dominated state and a mixed rhombohedral–Bernal state across a wide range of gate voltages. This was accompanied by switching between a nonmagnetic and a ferromagnetic phase.

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