Signature of quantum interference effect in inter-layer Coulomb drag in graphene-based electronic double-layer systems

Lijun Zhu; Xiaoqiang Liu; Lin Li; Xinyi Wan; Ran Tao; Zhongniu Xie; Ji Feng; Changgan Zeng

doi:10.1038/s41467-023-37197-2

Signature of quantum interference effect in inter-layer Coulomb drag in graphene-based electronic double-layer systems

Nat Commun. 2023 Mar 16;14(1):1465. doi: 10.1038/s41467-023-37197-2.

Authors

Lijun Zhu^#^{1

2}, Xiaoqiang Liu^#³, Lin Li^{4

5

6}, Xinyi Wan^{1

2}, Ran Tao^{1

2}, Zhongniu Xie^{1

2}, Ji Feng^{7

8}, Changgan Zeng^{9

10

11}

Affiliations

¹ CAS Key Laboratory of Strongly-Coupled Quantum Matter Physics, and Department of Physics, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, 230026, China.
² International Center for Quantum Design of Functional Materials (ICQD), Hefei National Research Center for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, 230026, China.
³ International Center for Quantum Materials, School of Physics, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China.
⁴ CAS Key Laboratory of Strongly-Coupled Quantum Matter Physics, and Department of Physics, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, 230026, China. lilin@ustc.edu.cn.
⁵ International Center for Quantum Design of Functional Materials (ICQD), Hefei National Research Center for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, 230026, China. lilin@ustc.edu.cn.
⁶ Hefei National Laboratory, Hefei, 230088, China. lilin@ustc.edu.cn.
⁷ International Center for Quantum Materials, School of Physics, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China. jfeng11@pku.edu.cn.
⁸ Hefei National Laboratory, Hefei, 230088, China. jfeng11@pku.edu.cn.
⁹ CAS Key Laboratory of Strongly-Coupled Quantum Matter Physics, and Department of Physics, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, 230026, China. cgzeng@ustc.edu.cn.
¹⁰ International Center for Quantum Design of Functional Materials (ICQD), Hefei National Research Center for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, 230026, China. cgzeng@ustc.edu.cn.
¹¹ Hefei National Laboratory, Hefei, 230088, China. cgzeng@ustc.edu.cn.

^# Contributed equally.

Abstract

The distinguishing feature of a quantum system is interference arising from the wave mechanical nature of particles which is clearly central to macroscopic electronic properties. Here, we report the signature of quantum interference effect in inter-layer transport process. Via systematic magneto-drag experiments on graphene-based electronic double-layer systems, we observe low-field correction to the Coulomb-scattering-dominated inter-layer drag resistance in a wide range of temperature and carrier density, with its characteristics sensitive to the band topology of graphene layers. These observations can be attributed to a new type of quantum interference between drag processes, with the interference pathway comprising different carrier diffusion paths in the two constituent conductors. The emergence of such effect relies on the formation of superimposing planar diffusion paths, among which the impurity potentials from intermediate insulating spacer play an essential role. Our findings establish an ideal platform where the interplay between quantum interference and many-body interaction is essential.

Abstract

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