1D Electronic Flat Bands in Untwisted Moiré Superlattices

After the preparation of 2D electronic flat band (EFB) in van der Waals (vdW) superlattices, recent measurements suggest the existence of 1D electronic flat bands (1D-EFBs) in twisted vdW bilayers. However, the realization of 1D-EFBs is experimentally elusive in untwisted 2D layers, which is desired considering their fabrication and scalability. Herein, the discovery of 1D-EFBs is reported in an untwisted in situ-grown two atomic-layer Bi(110) superlattice self-aligned on an SnSe(001) substrate using scanning probe microscopy measurements and density functional theory calculations. While the Bi-Bi dimers of Bi zigzag (ZZ) chains are buckled, the epitaxial lattice mismatch between the Bi and SnSe layers induces two 1D buckling reversal regions (BRRs) extending along the ZZ direction in each Bi(110)-11 × 11 supercell. A series of 1D-EFBs arises spatially following BRRs that isolate electronic states along the armchair (AC) direction and localize electrons in 1D extended states along ZZ due to quantum interference at a topological node. This work provides a generalized strategy for engineering 1D-EFBs in utilizing lattice mismatch between untwisted rectangular vdW layers.