56 research outputs found
Giant valley-isospin conductance oscillations in ballistic graphene
At high magnetic fields the conductance of graphene is governed by the
half-integer quantum Hall effect. By local electrostatic gating a \textit{p-n}
junction perpendicular to the graphene edges can be formed, along which quantum
Hall channels co-propagate. It has been predicted by Tworzid\l{}o and
co-workers that if only the lowest Landau level is filled on both sides of the
junction, the conductance is determined by the valley (isospin) polarization at
the edges and by the width of the flake. This effect remained hidden so far due
to scattering between the channels co-propagating along the \textit{p-n}
interface (equilibration). Here we investigate \textit{p-n} junctions in
encapsulated graphene with a movable \textit{p-n} interface with which we are
able to probe the edge-configuration of graphene flakes. We observe large
quantum conductance oscillations on the order of \si{e^2/h} which solely depend
on the \textit{p-n} junction position providing the first signature of
isospin-defined conductance. Our experiments are underlined by quantum
transport calculations.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure
Excited states in bilayer graphene quantum dots
We report on ground- and excited state transport through an electrostatically
defined few-hole quantum dot in bilayer graphene in both parallel and
perpendicular applied magnetic fields. A remarkably clear level scheme for the
two-particle spectra is found by analyzing finite bias spectroscopy data within
a two-particle model including spin and valley degrees of freedom. We identify
the two-hole ground-state to be a spin-triplet and valley-singlet state. This
spin alignment can be seen as Hund's rule for a valley-degenerate system, which
is fundamentally different to quantum dots in carbon nano tubes and GaAs-based
quantum dots. The spin-singlet excited states are found to be valley-triplet
states by tilting the magnetic field with respect to the sample plane. We
quantify the exchange energy to be 0.35meV and measure a valley and spin
g-factor of 36 and 2, respectively
Tuning a Circular p-n Junction in Graphene from Quantum Confinement to Optical Guiding
The motion of massless Dirac-electrons in graphene mimics the propagation of
photons. This makes it possible to control the charge-carriers with components
based on geometrical-optics and has led to proposals for an all-graphene
electron-optics platform. An open question arising from the possibility of
reducing the component-size to the nanometer-scale is how to access and
understand the transition from optical-transport to quantum-confinement. Here
we report on the realization of a circular p-n junction that can be
continuously tuned from the nanometer-scale, where quantum effects are
dominant, to the micrometer scale where optical-guiding takes over. We find
that in the nanometer-scale junction electrons are trapped in states that
resemble atomic-collapse at a supercritical charge. As the junction-size
increases, the transition to optical-guiding is signaled by the emergence of
whispering-gallery modes and Fabry-Perot interference. The creation of tunable
junctions that straddle the crossover between quantum-confinement and
optical-guiding, paves the way to novel design-architectures for controlling
electronic transport.Comment: 16 pages, 4 figure
Ballistic Josephson junctions in edge-contacted graphene
Hybrid graphene-superconductor devices have attracted much attention since
the early days of graphene research. So far, these studies have been limited to
the case of diffusive transport through graphene with poorly defined and modest
quality graphene-superconductor interfaces, usually combined with small
critical magnetic fields of the superconducting electrodes. Here we report
graphene based Josephson junctions with one-dimensional edge contacts of
Molybdenum Rhenium. The contacts exhibit a well defined, transparent interface
to the graphene, have a critical magnetic field of 8 Tesla at 4 Kelvin and the
graphene has a high quality due to its encapsulation in hexagonal boron
nitride. This allows us to study and exploit graphene Josephson junctions in a
new regime, characterized by ballistic transport. We find that the critical
current oscillates with the carrier density due to phase coherent interference
of the electrons and holes that carry the supercurrent caused by the formation
of a Fabry-P\'{e}rot cavity. Furthermore, relatively large supercurrents are
observed over unprecedented long distances of up to 1.5 m. Finally, in the
quantum Hall regime we observe broken symmetry states while the contacts remain
superconducting. These achievements open up new avenues to exploit the Dirac
nature of graphene in interaction with the superconducting state.Comment: Updated version after peer review. Includes supplementary material
and ancillary file with source code for tight binding simulation
Quantum oscillations of the critical current and high-field superconducting proximity in ballistic graphene
Graphene-based Josephson junctions provide a novel platform for studying the
proximity effect due to graphene's unique electronic spectrum and the
possibility to tune junction properties by gate voltage. Here we describe
graphene junctions with a mean free path of several micrometres, low contact
resistance and large supercurrents. Such devices exhibit pronounced
Fabry-P\'erot oscillations not only in the normal-state resistance but also in
the critical current. The proximity effect is mostly suppressed in magnetic
fields below 10mT, showing the conventional Fraunhofer pattern. Unexpectedly,
some proximity survives even in fields higher than 1 T. Superconducting states
randomly appear and disappear as a function of field and carrier concentration,
and each of them exhibits a supercurrent carrying capacity close to the
universal quantum limit. We attribute the high-field Josephson effect to
mesoscopic Andreev states that persist near graphene edges. Our work reveals
new proximity regimes that can be controlled by quantum confinement and
cyclotron motion
Gigahertz quantized charge pumping in graphene quantum dots
Single electron pumps are set to revolutionize electrical metrology by
enabling the ampere to be re-defined in terms of the elementary charge of an
electron. Pumps based on lithographically-fixed tunnel barriers in mesoscopic
metallic systems and normal/superconducting hybrid turnstiles can reach very
small error rates, but only at MHz pumping speeds corresponding to small
currents of the order 1 pA. Tunable barrier pumps in semiconductor structures
have been operated at GHz frequencies, but the theoretical treatment of the
error rate is more complex and only approximate predictions are available.
Here, we present a monolithic, fixed barrier single electron pump made entirely
from graphene. We demonstrate pump operation at frequencies up to 1.4 GHz, and
predict the error rate to be as low as 0.01 parts per million at 90 MHz.
Combined with the record-high accuracy of the quantum Hall effect and proximity
induced Josephson junctions, accurate quantized current generation brings an
all-graphene closure of the quantum metrological triangle within reach.
Envisaged applications for graphene charge pumps outside quantum metrology
include single photon generation via electron-hole recombination in
electrostatically doped bilayer graphene reservoirs, and for readout of
spin-based graphene qubits in quantum information processing.Comment: 13 pages, 11 figures, includes supplementary informatio
An Oxidation Induced by Potassium Metal : Studies on the Anionic Cyclodehydrogenation of 1,1 `-Binaphthyl to Perylene
Oxidative cyclization of 1, 1 `-binaphthyl (1) to perylene (2) can be achieved in essentially quantitative yield by the action of three or more equivalents of potassium metal in hot tetrahydrofuran. An overall reaction mechanism is proposed that accounts for all of the experimental observations reported by previous investigators and those from the present studies. The trans-6a,6b-dihydroperylene dianion (6(2-)) is believed lobe the pivotal intermediate from which H-2, is lost. A radical chain reaction involving free hydrogen atoms (H-center dot) in the two-step propagation cycle is proposed to explain the formation of H-2 from 6(2-). Anionic cyclodehydrogenations of this sort are complementary to those performed under strongly acidic/oxidizing conditions, photochemically, or thermally (flash vacuum pyrolysis), and a better understanding of how they occur, together with the optimized synthetic protocol reported here, should encourage their wider use in organic synthesis
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