Properties of a hybrid 2D semimetal, WTe₂/graphene

Many interesting phenomena have recently been observed in various stacked combinations of two-dimensional (2D) semiconductors and graphene. Motivated by this, we investigate the combination of the two 2D semimetals, graphene and WTe₂. WTe₂ has much stronger spin-orbit coupling and lower symmetry, and in the monolayer it supports topological edge modes, exhibits a peculiar insulating state that may be excitonic in nature, and undergoes a quantum phase transition to a superconducting state at a remarkably low level of electrostatic electron doping. Using new high quality WTe₂ crystals we gain insights into these properties and study how they are influenced by the proximity to graphene in a WTe₂/graphene hybrid.