Observation of Robust and Long-Ranged Superperiodicity of Electronic Density Induced by Intervalley Scattering in Graphene/ Transition Metal Dichalcogenide Heterostructures

Two-dimensional (2D) h-BN and transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) are widely used as substrates of graphene because they are insulating, atomically flat, and without dangling bonds. Usually, it is believed that such insulating substrates will not affect the electronic properties of graphene, especially when the moire pattern generated between them is quite small. Here, we present a systematic study of the electronic properties of graphene/TMD heterostructures with the period of the moire pattern <1 nm, and our results reveal an unexpected sensitivity of electronic properties in graphene to the 2D insulating substrates. We demonstrate that there is a robust and long-ranged superperiodicity of electronic density in graphene, which arises from the scattering of electrons between the two valleys of graphene in the graphene/TMD heterostructures. By using scanning tunneling microscope and spectroscopy, three distinct atomic-scale patterns of the electronic density are directly imaged in every graphene/ TMD heterostructure.