English

Mapping universal conductance fluctuations

Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics 2010-01-29 v2

Abstract

Graphene provides a fascinating testbed for new physics and exciting opportunities for future applications based on quantum phenomena. To understand the coherent flow of electrons through a graphene device, we employ a nanoscale probe that can access the relevant length scales - the tip of a liquid-He-cooled scanning probe microscope (SPM) capacitively couples to the graphene device below, creating a movable scatterer for electron waves. At sufficiently low temperatures and small size scales, the diffusive transport of electrons through graphene becomes coherent, leading to universal conductance fluctuations (UCF). By scanning the tip over a device, we map these conductance fluctuations \textit{vs.} scatterer position. We find that the conductance is highly sensitive to the tip position, producing δGe2/h\delta G \sim e^2/h fluctuations when the tip is displaced by a distance comparable to half the Fermi wavelength. These measurements are in good agreement with detailed quantum simulations of the imaging experiment, and demonstrate the value of a cooled SPM for probing coherent transport in graphene.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.0907.0428,
  title  = {Mapping universal conductance fluctuations},
  author = {J. Berezovsky and M. F. Borunda and E. J. Heller and R. M. Westervelt},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:0907.0428},
  year   = {2010}
}

Comments

16 pages, 6 figures

R2 v1 2026-06-21T13:20:38.072Z