Electrons in two-dimensional semiconductor moiré materials are more delocalized around the lattice sites than those in conventional solids1,2. The non-local contributions to the magnetic interactions can therefore be as important as the Anderson superexchange3, which makes the materials a unique platform to study the effects of competing magnetic interactions3,4. Here we report evidence of strongly frustrated magnetic interactions in a Wigner–Mott insulator at a two-thirds (2/3) filling of the moiré lattice in angle-aligned WSe2/WS2 bilayers.

Strongly correlated bosons in a lattice are a platform that can realize rich bosonic states of matter and quantum phase transitions1. While strongly correlated bosons in a lattice have been studied in cold-atom experiments2–4, their realization in a solid-state system has remained challenging5. Here we trap interlayer excitons–bosons composed of bound electron–hole pairs, in a lattice provided by an angle-aligned WS2/bilayer WSe2/WS2 multilayer. The heterostructure supports Coulomb-coupled triangular moiré lattices of nearly identical period at the top and bottom interfaces.

Moiré materials with flat electronic bands provide a highly controllable quantum system for studies of strong-correlation physics and topology. In particular, angle-aligned heterobilayers of semiconducting transition metal dichalcogenides with large band offset realize the single-band Hubbard model. Introduction of a new layer degree of freedom is expected to foster richer interactions, enabling Hund’s physics, interlayer exciton condensation and new superconducting pairing mechanisms to name a few.

The bandwidth-tuned Wigner-Mott transition is an interaction-driven phase transition from a generalized Wigner crystal to a Fermi liquid. Because the transition is generally accompanied by both magnetic and charge-order instabilities, it remains unclear if a continuous Wigner-Mott transition exists. Here, we demonstrate bandwidth-tuned metal-insulator transitions at fixed fractional fillings of a MoSe2/WS2 moiré superlattice. The bandwidth is controlled by an out-of-plane electric field. The dielectric response is probed optically with the 2s exciton in a remote WSe2 sensor layer.

Proximity-induced superconductivity in a ferromagnet can induce Cooper pairs with a finite center-of-mass momentum and stabilize Josephson junctions (JJs) with πphase difference in superconductor-ferromagnet-superconductor heterostructures. The emergence of two-dimensional layered superconducting and magnetic materials promises a new platform for realizing πJJs with atomically sharp interfaces. Here we demonstrate a thickness-driven 0-πtransition in JJs made of NbSe2(an Ising superconductor) and Cr2Ge2Te6(a ferromagnetic semiconductor).

Moiré materials have emerged as a platform for exploring the physics of strong electronic correlations and non-trivial band topology. Here we review the recent progress in semiconductor moiré materials, with a particular focus on transition metal dichalcogenides. Following a brief overview of the general features in this class of materials, we discuss recent theoretical and experimental studies on Hubbard physics, Kane–Mele–Hubbard physics and equilibrium moiré excitons.

Two-dimensional moiré materials provide a highly controllable solid-state platform for studies of quantum phenomena1–3. To date, experimental studies have focused on correlated electronic states, whereas correlated bosonic states in moiré materials have received less attention. Here we report the observation of a correlated dipolar excitonic insulator—a charge-insulating state driven by exciton formation4—in a device where a WSe2 monolayer and WSe2/WS2 moiré bilayer are coupled via Coulomb interactions. The system is a Mott insulator when all the holes reside in the moiré layer.

Moire superlattices constructed from transition metal dichalcogenides have demonstrated a series of emergent phenomena, including moire excitons, flat bands, and correlated insulating states. All of these phenomena depend crucially on the presence of strong moire potentials, yet the properties of these moire potentials, and the mechanisms by which they can be generated, remain largely open questions. Here, we use angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy with submicron spatial resolution to investigate an aligned WS2/WSe2moire superlattice and graphene/WS2/WSe2trilayer heterostructure.

Overlaying two atomic layers with a slight lattice mismatch or at a small rotation angle creates a moiré superlattice, which has properties that are markedly modified from (and at times entirely absent in) the ‘parent’ materials. Such moiré materials have progressed the study and engineering of strongly correlated phenomena and topological systems in reduced dimensions.