Graphene moiré superlattices with giant quantum nonlinearity of chiral Bloch electrons

Graphene-based samples have shown a plethora of exotic characteristics and these properties may help the realization of a new generation of fast electronic devices. However, graphene's centrosymmetry prohibits second-order electronic transport. Here, we show giant second-order nonlinear transports in graphene moiré superlattices at zero magnetic field, both longitudinal and transverse to the applied current direction. High carrier mobility and inversion symmetry breaking by hexagonal boron nitride lead to nonlinear conductivities five orders of magnitude larger than those in WTe₂. The nonlinear conductivity strongly depends on the gate voltage as well as on the stacking configuration, with a giant enhancement originating from the moiré bands. Longitudinal nonlinear conductivity cannot originate from Berry curvature dipoles. Our theoretical modelling highlights skew scattering of chiral Bloch electrons as the physical origin. With these results, we demonstrate nonlinear charge transport due to valley-contrasting chirality, which constitutes an alternative means to induce second-order transports in van der Waals heterostructures. Our approach is promising for applications in frequency-doubling and energy harvesting via rectification.