Among the unusual properties of graphene, one of the most exciting and least understood is the additional degree of freedom experienced by electrons.
It is called the pseudospin and it determines the probability to find electrons on neighbouring carbon atoms. The possibility to control this degree of freedom would allow for new types of experiments, but potentially also enable to use it for electronic applications.
Now, writing in Science, Manchester physicists demonstrate how electrons with well-controlled pseudospin can be injected into graphene. The scientists used two layers of graphene, rotated by a small angle with respect to each other and separated by a thin layer of boron nitride, another two-dimensional material and an excellent insulator.
Applying strong magnetic field parallel to the graphene layers, the pseudospin state of the tunnelling electrons can be chosen.
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