Engineering Floquet Moiré Patterns for Scalable Photocurrents

Abstract

While intense laser irradiation and moiré engineering have independently proven powerful for tuning material properties on demand in condensed matter physics, their combination remains unexplored. Here we exploit tilted laser illumination to create spatially modulated light–matter interactions, leading to two striking phenomena in graphene. First, using two lasers tilted along the same axis, we create a quasi-1D supercell hosting a network of Floquet topological states that generate controllable and scalable photocurrents spanning the entire irradiated region. Second, by tilting lasers along orthogonal axes, we establish a 2D polarization moiré pattern giving rise to closed orbital propagation of Floquet states, reminiscent of bulk Landau states. These features, imprinted in the bulk of the irradiated region and controlled through laser wavelength and tilt angles, establish a new way for engineering quantum states through spatially modulated light–matter coupling.