Electric-Field-Tunable Spin–Orbit Gap in a Bilayer Graphene/WSe₂ Quantum Dot

We report on the investigation of proximity-induced spin-orbit coupling (SOC) in a heterostructure of bilayer graphene (BLG) and tungsten diselenide (WSe₂). A BLG quantum dot (QD) in the few-particle regime acts as a sensitive probe for induced SOC. Finite bias and magnetotransport spectroscopy measurements reveal a significantly enhanced SOC that decreases with the applied displacement field, distinguishing it from pristine BLG. Furthermore, our measurements demonstrate a reduced valley <i>g</i> factor at larger displacement fields, consistent with weaker lateral confinement of the QD. Our findings show evidence of the influence of WSe₂ across BLG layers, driven by reduced real-space confinement and increased layer localization of the QD states on the BLG layer distant to the WSe₂ at higher displacement fields. This study demonstrates the electrostatic tunability of the spin-orbit gap in BLG/WSe₂ heterostructures, which is especially relevant for the field of spintronics and future spin qubit control in BLG QDs.