Increasing the proximity-induced spin-orbit coupling in bilayer graphene/WSe2 heterostructures with pressure

Combining graphene with transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) leads to enhanced spin-orbit coupling (SOC) in graphene. The induced SOC has a large effect on the low-energy part of the band structure, leading to or stabilizing topological phases or superconductivity. Here, the pressure dependence of the SOC strength is investigated in bilayer graphene/WSe2 heterostructures. We performed magnetoconductance studies, such as weak localization, quantum Hall, and Shubnikov–de Haas oscillation measurements, to extract the different SOC terms which determine the low-energy band structure of bilayer graphene. We find the proximity-induced SOC strengths increased by more than 50% as a result of applying 2 GPa hydrostatic pressure. Our studies highlight the opportunity to increase the SOC coupling strength with pressure, which can be important for correlated phases or spin qubits in bilayer graphene/WSe2 heterostructures.