Quantum tunneling and defect-induced transport modulation in twisted bilayer graphene superlattices

Abstract: We investigate quantum tunneling of charge carriers through a periodic superlattice in twisted bilayer graphene (TBG) with rectangular potential barriers, including the presence of a defect, using a low-energy continuum model. Transmission probabilities are numerically analyzed depending on the parameters of the problem, highlighting the roles of twist angle, number of barriers, barrier geometry, and the presence of a defect barrier within the superlattice. Our numerical results reveal that transmission is highly sensitive to these parameters: reducing the twist angle changes the number, depth, and position of transmission gaps and resonance peaks. The presence of defect affects the transmission, leading to the appearance of tunneling states inside transmission gaps with energy position can be tuned by the well width. At low incident energy, the transmission for normally incident electrons is perfect or nearly perfect, independent of the twist angle and the number of barriers. However, at large incident energy, the transmission becomes distinctly anisotropic, reflecting the separation of Dirac cones induced by twist angle variations. The presence of defects, particularly at smaller twist angles, provides additional control of tunneling behavior, allowing complete suppression of Klein tunneling under certain conditions. These findings extend the established understanding of miniband transport in periodic graphene systems and open new possibilities for twist-tunable nanoelectronic and quantum devices.