The effect of electron-electron interaction on the low-temperature conductivity of graphene is investigated experimentally. Unlike in other two-dimensional systems, the electron-electron interaction correction in graphene is sensitive to the details
of disorder. A new temperature regime of the interaction correction is observed where quantum interference is suppressed by intra-valley scattering. We determine the value of the interaction parameter, F_0 ~ -0.1, and show that its small value is due to the chiral nature of interacting electrons.
The wave nature of electrons in low-dimensional structures manifests itself in conventional electrical measurements as a quantum correction to the classical conductance. This correction comes from the interference of scattered electrons which results
in electron localisation and therefore a decrease of the conductance. In graphene, where the charge carriers are chiral and have an additional (Berry) phase of pi, the quantum interference is expected to lead to anti-localisation: an increase of the conductance accompanied by negative magnetoconductance (a decrease of conductance in magnetic field). Here we observe such negative magnetoconductance which is a direct consequence of the chirality of electrons in graphene. We show that graphene is a unique two-dimensional material in that, depending on experimental conditions, it can demonstrate both localisation and anti-localisation effects. We also show that quantum interference in graphene can survive at unusually high temperatures, up to T~200 K.
We have fabricated graphene devices with a top gate separated from the graphene layer by an air gap--a design which does not decrease the mobility of charge carriers under the gate. This gate is used to realise p-n-p structures where the conducting p
roperties of chiral carriers are studied. The band profile of the structures is calculated taking into account the specifics of the graphene density of states and is used to find the resistance of the p-n junctions expected for chiral carriers. We show that ballistic p-n junctions have larger resistance than diffusive ones. This is caused by suppressed transmission of chiral carriers at angles away from the normal to the junction.
We show that the manifestation of quantum interference in graphene is very different from that in conventional two-dimensional systems. Due to the chiral nature of charge carriers, it is sensitive not only to inelastic, phase-breaking scattering, but
also to a number of elastic scattering processes. We study weak localization in different samples and at different carrier densities, including the Dirac region, and find the characteristic rates that determine it. We show how the shape and quality of graphene flakes affect the values of the elastic and inelastic rates and discuss their physical origin.
We have observed reproducible fluctuations of the Coulomb drag, both as a function of magnetic field and electron concentration, which are a manifestation of quantum interference of electrons in the layers. At low temperatures the fluctuations exceed
the average drag, giving rise to random changes of the sign of the drag. The fluctuations are found to be much larger than previously expected, and we propose a model which explains their enhancement by considering fluctuations of local electron properties.
