No Arabic abstract
Using the semiclassical quantum Boltzmann equation (QBE), we numerically calculate the DC transport properties of bilayer graphene near charge neutrality. We find, in contrast to prior discussions, that phonon scattering is crucial even at temperatures below 40K. Nonetheless, electron-electron scattering still dominates over phonon collisions allowing a hydrodynamic approach. We introduce a simple two-fluid hydrodynamic model of electrons and holes interacting via Coulomb drag and compare our results to the full QBE calculation. We show that the two-fluid model produces quantitatively accurate results for conductivity, thermopower, and thermal conductivity.
The magnetic field-dependent longitudinal and Hall components of the resistivity rho_xx(H) and rho_xy(H) are measured in graphene on silicon dioxide substrates at temperatures from 1.6 K to room temperature. At charge densities near the charge-neutrality point rho_xx(H) is strongly enhanced and rho_xy(H) is suppressed, indicating nearly equal electron and hole contributions to the transport current. The data are inconsistent with uniformly distributed electron and hole concentrations (two-fluid model) but in excellent agreement with the recent theoretical prediction for inhomogeneously distributed electron and hole regions of equal mobility. At low temperatures and high magnetic fields rho_xx(H) saturates to a value ~h/e^2, with Hall conductivity << e^2/h, which may indicate a regime of localized v = 2 and v = -2 quantum Hall puddles.
We develop the theory of hydrodynamic electron transport in a long-range disorder potential for conductors in which the underlying electron liquid lacks Galilean invariance. For weak disorder, we express the transport coefficients of the system in terms of the intrinsic kinetic coefficients of the electron liquid and the correlation function of the disorder potential. We apply these results to analyze the doping and temperature dependence of transport coefficients of graphene devices. We show that at charge neutrality, long-range disorder increases the conductivity of the system above the intrinsic value. The enhancement arises from the predominantly vortical hydrodynamic flow caused by local deviations from charge neutrality. Its magnitude is inversely proportional to the shear viscosity of the electron liquid and scales as the square of the disorder correlation radius. This is qualitatively different from the situation away from charge neutrality. In that case, the flow is predominantly potential, and produces negative viscous contributions to the conductivity, which are proportional to the sum of shear and bulk viscosities, and inversely proportional to the square of disorder correlation radius.
We study conductance across a twisted bilayer graphene coupled to single-layer graphene leads in two setups: a flake of graphene on top of an infinite graphene ribbon and two overlapping semi-infinite graphene ribbons. We find conductance strongly depends on the angle between the two graphene layers and identify three qualitatively different regimes. For large angles ($theta gtrsim 10^{circ}$) there are strong commensurability effects for incommensurate angles the low energy conductance approaches that of two disconnected layers, while sharp conductance features correlate with commensurate angles with small unit cells. For intermediate angles ($3^{circ}lesssim theta lesssim 10^{circ}$), we find a one-to-one correspondence between certain conductance features and the twist-dependent Van Hove singularities arising at low energies, suggesting conductance measurements can be used to determine the twist angle. For small twist angles ($1^{circ}lesssimthetalesssim 3^{circ}$), commensurate effects seem to be washed out and the conductance becomes a smooth function of the angle. In this regime, conductance can be used to probe the narrow bands, with vanishing conductance regions corresponding to spectral gaps in the density of states, in agreement with recent experimental findings.
Different scattering mechanisms in graphene are explored and conductivity is calculated within the Boltzmann transport theory. We provide results for short-range scattering using the Random Phase Approximation for electron screening, as well as analytical expressions for the dependence of conductivity on the dielectric constant of the substrate. We further examine the effect of ripples on the transport using a surface roughness model developed for semiconductor heterostructures. We find that close to the Dirac point, sigma sim n^beta, where beta=1,0,-2 for Coulomb, short-range and surface roughness respectively; implying that Coulomb scattering dominates over both short-range and surface roughness scattering at low density.
There is an increasing amount of literature concerning electronic properties of graphene close to the neutrality point. Many experiments continue using the two-probe geometry or invasive contacts or do not control samples macroscopic homogeneity. We believe that it is helpful to point out some problems related to such measurements. By using experimental examples, we illustrate that the charge inhomogeneity induced by spurious chemical doping or metal contacts can lead to large systematic errors in assessing graphenes transport properties and, in particular, its minimal conductivity. The problems are most severe in the case of two-probe measurements where the contact resistance is found to strongly vary as a function of gate voltage.