Abstract
Graphitic polytypes—commensurate stacking variants of graphene layers—exhibit pronounced stacking-dependent properties, including intrinsic polarization, orbital magnetism and unconventional superconductivity. Previous attempts to switch between these polytypes required micrometre-scale domains and micronewton loading forces, severely limiting practical multi-ferroic functionality. Here we demonstrate fully reversible transformations of Bernal tetralayers to rhombohedral crystals down to 30-nanometre-scale dimensions, using <1 nanonewton lateral shear forces and an energy of <1 femtojoule per switching event. We achieve this by inserting an intentionally misaligned spacer, patterned by nanometre-scale cavities, between a pair of aligned bilayers. Within each cavity, the active bilayers sag to form stable single-domain polytypes, whereas outside the cavities, the layers slide freely over superlubric, incommensurate interfaces with ultralow friction. Conducting-probe force-microscopy experiments, supported by force-field calculations, reveal edge-nucleated boundary solitons that slide spontaneously to switch the commensurate domains, indicating ultralow pinning and long-range strain relaxations extending tens of nanometres beyond the islands. By engineering cavity geometries, we program elastic coupling between neighbouring islands and tune switching thresholds and trajectories. This reconfigurable slidetronic control establishes a robust route to multi-ferroic response and elastically coupled switching among distinct stacking states.
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Data availability
All of the data in the experiments, calculations and analysis that support the findings of this study are included in the main paper and Methods. Any other relevant raw data are available via Zenodo at https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17865017 (ref. 51).
Change history
12 February 2026
A Correction to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41565-026-02138-9
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Acknowledgements
We acknowledge Y. Lahini for many discussions, N. S. Ravid, I. Y. Malker and P. Yanovich for laboratory support, and A. Cerreta from Park Systems for AFM support. P.Y. is supported by the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities & Council for Higher Education Excellence Fellowship Program for International Postdoctoral Researchers. K.W. and T.T. acknowledge support from the JSPS KAKENHI (grant numbers 21H05233 and 23H02052) and World Premier International Research Center Initiative (WPI), MEXT, Japan. M.U. is grateful for generous financial support via the grant no. BSF-NSF 2023614. O.H. is grateful for the generous financial support of the Heinemann Chair in Physical Chemistry. M.B.S. acknowledges funding by the European Research Council under the European Union’s Horizon 2024 research and innovation program (‘SlideTronics’, consolidator grant agreement no. 101126257) and the Israel Science Foundation under grant nos. 319/22 and 3623/21. We further acknowledge the Centre for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology of Tel Aviv University.
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N. Roy conducted the experiments supported by S.S.A., Y.S., Y.Y. and N. Raab and supervised by M.B.S. P.Y. conducted the force-field calculations supervised by M.U. and O.H. K.W. and T.T. provided the hBN crystals. All authors contributed to the writing of the paper.
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Extended data
Extended Data Fig. 1 Optical image of the samples.
(a) Two pieces of bilayer graphene (BLG), (b) Monolayer graphene spacer (MLG), (c) Final sample (S1), where the purple, blue, and yellow dashed rectangles represent the boundaries of the two BLG pieces and the MLG spacer, respectively. (d-f) A second sample (S2) similar to the first one.
Extended Data Fig. 2 Friction force imaging.
(a, b) Schematic illustration of lateral photodiode signals and the torsional motion of the AFM tip during forward and backward scans. (c) Map of the lateral signal for forward and backward scans. (d) Line-cut along the dashed line in (c). (e) Friction force as a function of the loading force. (f–h) Examples of friction force calibration maps. (i) Corresponding topography map.
Extended Data Fig. 3 Comparison of Raman and current maps.
(a) Representative IV curves measured on R and B regions of two different samples. Within the same sample, a bias shift of ~15 ± 5 mV is exhibited. (b) Optical image of few-layer exfoliated graphene flakes. (c) 2D Raman map of the four-layer graphene region outlined by the purple frame in (b). (d) 2D Raman peaks corresponding to R and B polytype regions. (e) Current map of the regions shown in (c). (f) Current map of the SLAP sample. (g) Line-cut along the dashed lines in (e) and (f). (h) Current map and (i) topography of a twisted double-bilayer graphene sample, showing distinct moiré patterns of different current contrast.
Extended Data Fig. 4 SLAP sample with varying spacer thickness.
(a) Optical image of the SLAP sample (S7). The borders of top and bottom active bilayers and the spacer are marked in purple, green, and yellow, respectively. (b) Optical image of the patterned flakes showing varying thickness (1 to 4 layers of graphene) of the spacer. (c) AFM topographic image highlighting etched cavities of different sizes across regions with 1–4 layer-thick graphene spacers. (d–f) Current maps of a selected small cavity region spanning 1 L to 4 L spacer regions, taken before, during, and after switching scan. Changes in contrast corresponding to stacking polytype switching are highlighted in purple markers. (g) Sample region with an array of cavities in the 4 L and 3 L spacer and their switching behavior after high load switching scans. Subpanels 1–4 and 5–8 show low-load current maps for 4 L and 3 L cavities, respectively. Successive current maps were acquired after high load switching scans (~350 nN), demonstrating switching behavior of stacking domains in the thicker spacer region.
Extended Data Fig. 5 Spacer-thickness-dependence of moiré coupling.
(a) Current map of a sample region containing a monolayer and bilayer (misaligned ~30°) spacer, showing a visible spacer-mediated moiré pattern only in the monolayer region. (b) Corresponding topographic image.
Extended Data Fig. 6 SLAP sample with h-BN spacer.
Optical images of (a) bilayer graphene, (b) h-BN spacer with circular cavities, and (c) the final stacked heterostructure (marked as S8). (d) AFM topography of the sample surface showing four circular cavities of varying diameters. (e) Corresponding current map of the same region, revealing moiré domain patterns confined within each cavity. (f–j) Current maps of a single cavity (marked with a light blue square in panels d, e), acquired under a vertical loading force of 100 nN, show the evolution and partial motion of domain walls upon scanning in various directions. (k–m) Optical images of another SLAP sample (marked as S5) with an h-BN spacer. (n) Current map of a region with two interconnected cavities, capturing multiple dislocation lines within the channel region. (o) Corresponding topography map.
Extended Data Fig. 7 SLAP sample with twisted active bilayers.
Optical images of key fabrication steps of the sample (S9). (a) Exfoliated bilayer graphene, cut into two separate pieces, (b) A patterned monolayer spacer (with AFM topography shown in the inset), and (c) The final stacked heterostructure. (d) AFM topography and (e) the corresponding current map of the stacked region, revealing multiple cavities of varying sizes, each hosting a triangular moiré pattern. (f–k) Current maps of a single cavity under a loading force of 400 nN, with scans performed along different directions (marked by the curvy light blue arrows), reflecting motion and reconfiguration of domain walls within the moiré superlattice.
Extended Data Fig. 8 Rectangular and circular SLAP cavities.
(a) Optical images of bilayer graphene and the patterned spacer formed from the same flake. (b) The final stacked heterostructure. (c) AFM topography image of a part of the sample, showing a clean surface with circular and rectangular etched cavities. (d) Sequence of current maps, taken during five consecutive scans (1–5) over the rectangular and circular cavities, under a vertical loading force of ~10 nN. (e-g) Current maps (scans 6–8), taken under low load over a circular cavity region with a single domain of B- and R-type polytypes, following a high-load switching scan.
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Roy, N., Ying, P., Atri, S.S. et al. Switching graphitic polytypes in elastically coupled cavities. Nat. Nanotechnol. (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41565-025-02121-w
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41565-025-02121-w
