Observation of unconventional splitting of Landau levels in strained graphene

In strained graphene, lattice deformation can create pseudo-magnetic fields and result in zero-field Landau level-like quantization. In the presence of an external magnetic field, valley-polarized Landau levels are predicted to be observed because the pseudo-magnetic fields are of opposite directions in the K and K' valleys of graphene. Here, we present experimental spectroscopic measurements by scanning tunneling microscopy of strained graphene on Rh foil. We direct observed valley splitting of the Landau level induced by the coexistence of the pseudo-magnetic fields and external magnetic fields. The observed result paves the way to exploit novel electronic properties in graphene through the combination of the pseudo-magnetic fields and the external magnetic fields.