Phonon-limited valley life times in single-particle bilayer graphene quantum dots

The valley degree of freedom in 2D semiconductors, such as gapped bilayer graphene (BLG) and transition metal dichalcogenides, is a promising carrier of quantum information in the emerging field of valleytronics. While valley dynamics have been extensively studied for moderate band gap 2D~semiconductors using optical spectroscopy techniques, very little is known about valley lifetimes in narrow band gap BLG, which is difficult to study using optical techniques. Here, we report single-particle valley relaxation times ($T_1$) exceeding several microseconds in electrostatically defined BLG quantum dots (QDs) using a pulse-gating technique. The observed dependence of $T_1$ on perpendicular magnetic field can be understood qualitatively and quantitatively by a model in which $T_1$ is limited by electron-phonon coupling. We identify the coupling to acoustic phonons via the bond length change and via the deformation potential as the limiting mechanisms.