Imaging universal conductance fluctuations in graphene

ACS Nano. 2011 May 24;5(5):3622-7. doi: 10.1021/nn103450d. Epub 2011 Apr 14.

Abstract

We study conductance fluctuations (CF) and the sensitivity of the conductance to the motion of a single scatterer in two-dimensional massless Dirac systems. Our extensive numerical study finds limits to the predicted universal value of CF. We find that CF are suppressed for ballistic systems near the Dirac point and approach the universal value at sufficiently strong disorder. The conductance of massless Dirac fermions is sensitive to the motion of a single scatterer. CF of order e(2)/h result from the motion of a single impurity by a distance comparable to the Fermi wavelength. This result applies to graphene systems with a broad range of impurity strength and concentration while the dependence on the Fermi wavelength can be explored via gate voltages. Our prediction can be tested by comparing graphene samples with varying amounts of disorder and can be used to understand interference effects in mesoscopic graphene devices.

Publication types

  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Computer Simulation
  • Electric Conductivity
  • Graphite / chemistry*
  • Models, Chemical*
  • Nanostructures / chemistry*

Substances

  • Graphite