Correlated insulating states at fractional fillings of the WS2/WSe2 moiré lattice

Abstract

The strong electron interactions in the minibands formed in moiré superlattices of van der Waals materials, such as twisted graphene and transition metal dichalcogenides, make such systems a fascinating platform with which to study strongly correlated states1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19. In most systems, the correlated states appear when the moiré lattice is filled by an integer number of electrons per moiré unit cell. Recently, correlated states at fractional fillings of 1/3 and 2/3 holes per moiré unit cell have been reported in the WS2/WSe2 hetero-bilayer, hinting at the long-range nature of the electron interaction16. Here we observe a series of correlated insulating states at fractional fillings of the moiré minibands on both electron- and hole-doped sides in angle-aligned WS2/WSe2 hetero-bilayers, with certain states persisting at temperatures up to 120 K. Simulations reveal that these insulating states correspond to ordering of electrons in the moiré lattice with a periodicity much larger than the moiré unit cell, indicating a surprisingly strong and long-range interaction beyond the nearest neighbours.