Chemical potential and quantum Hall ferromagnetism in bilayer graphene

Abstract

Bilayer graphene has a distinctive electronic structure influenced by a complex interplay between various degrees of freedom. We probed its chemical potential using double bilayer graphene heterostructures, separated by a hexagonal boron nitride dielectric. The chemical potential has a nonlinear carrier density dependence and bears signatures of electron-electron interactions. The data allowed a direct measurement of the electric field-induced bandgap at zero magnetic field, the orbital Landau level (LL) energies, and the broken-symmetry quantum Hall state gaps at high magnetic fields. We observe spin-to-valley polarized transitions for all half-filled LLs, as well as emerging phases at filling factors v = 0 and v = +/- 2. Furthermore, the data reveal interaction-driven negative compressibility and electron-hole asymmetry in N = 0, 1 LLs.