We put forward a theory of the weak localization in two dimensional graphene layers which explains experimentally observable transition between positive and negative magnetoresistance. Calculations are performed for the whole range of classically weak magnetic field with account on intervalley transitions. Contribution to the quantum correction which stems from closed trajectories with few scatterers is carefully taken into account. We show that intervalley transitions lead not only to the transition from weak antilocalization to the weak localization, but also to the non-monotonous dependence of the conductivity on the magnetic field.
In this theoretical study, we explore the manner in which the quantum correction due to weak localization is suppressed in weakly-disordered graphene, when it is subjected to the application of a non-zero voltage. Using a nonequilibrium Green function approach, we address the scattering generated by the disorder up to the level of the maximally crossed diagrams, hereby capturing the interference among different, impurity-defined, Feynman paths. Our calculations of the charge current, and of the resulting differential conductance, reveal the logarithmic divergence typical of weak localization in linear transport. The main finding of our work is that the applied voltage suppresses the weak localization contribution in graphene, by introducing a dephasing time that decreases inversely with increasing voltage.
Low-field magnetoresistance is ubiquitous in low-dimensional metallic systems with high resistivity and well understood as arising due to quantum interference on self-intersecting diffusive trajectories. We have found that in graphene this weak-localization magnetoresistance is strongly suppressed and, in some cases, completely absent. This unexpected observation is attributed to mesoscopic corrugations of graphene sheets which cause a dephasing effect similar to that of a random magnetic field.
We describe the weak localization correction to conductivity in ultra-thin graphene films, taking into account disorder scattering and the influence of trigonal warping of the Fermi surface. A possible manifestation of the chiral nature of electrons in the localization properties is hampered by trigonal warping, resulting in a suppression of the weak anti-localization effect in monolayer graphene and of weak localization in bilayer graphene. Intervalley scattering due to atomically sharp scatterers in a realistic graphene sheet or by edges in a narrow wire tends to restore weak localization resulting in negative magnetoresistance in both materials.
We present a magneto-transport study of graphene samples into which a mild disorder was introduced by exposure to ozone. Unlike the conductivity of pristine graphene, the conductivity of graphene samples exposed to ozone becomes very sensitive to temperature: it decreases by more than 3 orders of magnitude between 100K and 1K. By varying either an external gate voltage or temperature, we continuously tune the transport properties from the weak to the strong localization regime. We show that the transition occurs as the phase coherence length becomes comparable to the localization length. We also highlight the important role of disorder-enhanced electron-electron interaction on the resistivity.
Weak localization in graphene is studied as a function of carrier density in the range from 1 x $10^{11}$,cm$^{-2}$ to 1.43 x $10^{13}$,cm$^{-2}$ using devices produced by epitaxial growth onto SiC and CVD growth on thin metal film. The magnetic field dependent weak localization is found to be well fitted by theory, which is then used to analyse the dependence of the scattering lengths L$_varphi$, L$_i$, and L$_*$ on carrier density. We find no significant carrier dependence for L$_varphi$, a weak decrease for L$_i$ with increasing carrier density just beyond a large standard error, and a n$^{-frac{1}{4}}$ dependence for L$_*$. We demonstrate that currents as low as 0.01,nA are required in smaller devices to avoid hot-electron artefacts in measurements of the quantum corrections to conductivity.