Valley precession and valley polarization in graphene with inter-valley coupling

J Phys Condens Matter. 2017 Oct 4;29(39):395303. doi: 10.1088/1361-648X/aa80cf. Epub 2017 Jul 19.

Abstract

We theoretically investigate the valley precession and valley polarization in graphene under inter-valley coupling. Our results show that the inter-valley coupling can induce valley polarization in graphene and also precess valleys in real space in a manner similar to the Rashba spin-orbit interaction rotating spins. Moreover, using strain modulation, we can achieve high valley polarization with large valley-polarized currents. These findings provide a new way to create and manipulate valley polarization in graphene.