Understanding Disorder in Monolayer Graphene Devices with Gate-Defined Superlattices

Abstract: Engineering superlattices (SLs) - which are spatially periodic potential landscapes for electrons - is an emerging approach for the realization of exotic properties, including superconductivity and correlated insulators, in two-dimensional materials. While moir\'e SL engineering has been a popular approach, nanopatterning is an attractive alternative offering control over the pattern and wavelength of the SL. However, the disorder arising in the system due to imperfect nanopatterning is seldom studied. Here, by creating a square lattice of nanoholes in the $SiO_2$ dielectric layer using nanolithography, we study the superlattice potential and the disorder formed in hBN-graphene-hBN heterostructures. Specifically, we observe that while electrical transport shows distinct superlattice satellite peaks, the disorder of the device is significantly higher than graphene devices without any SL. We use finite-element simulations combined with a resistor network model to calculate the effects of this disorder on the transport properties of graphene. We consider three types of disorder: nanohole size variations, adjacent nanohole mergers, and nanohole vacancies. Comparing our experimental results with the model, we find that the disorder primarily originates from nanohole size variations rather than nanohole mergers in square SLs. We further confirm the validity of our model by comparing the results with quantum transport simulations. Our findings highlight the applicability of our simple framework to predict and engineer disorder in patterned SLs, specifically correlating variations in the resultant SL patterns to the observed disorder. Our combined experimental and theoretical results could serve as a valuable guide for optimizing nanofabrication processes to engineer disorder in nanopatterned SLs.