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Mach-Zehnder interferometry using spin- and valley-polarized quantum Hall edge states in graphene

Journal Article · · Science Advances
 [1];  [2];  [3];  [4];  [4];  [5];  [2];  [6]
  1. Harvard Univ., Cambridge, MA (United States). John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences; Harvard Univ., Cambridge, MA (United States)
  2. Harvard Univ., Cambridge, MA (United States). Dept. of Physics
  3. Harvard Univ., Cambridge, MA (United States). Dept. of Physics; Massachusetts Inst. of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA (United States). Dept. of Physics
  4. National Inst. for Materials Science (NIMS), Tsukuba (Japan). Advanced Materials Lab.
  5. Massachusetts Inst. of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA (United States). Dept. of Physics
  6. Harvard Univ., Cambridge, MA (United States). John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences; Harvard Univ., Cambridge, MA (United States). Dept. of Physics
+ Show Author Affiliations
Confined to a two-dimensional plane, electrons in a strong magnetic field travel along the edge in one-dimensional quantum Hall channels that are protected against backscattering. These channels can be used as solid-state analogs of monochromatic beams of light, providing a unique platform for studying electron interference. Electron interferometry is regarded as one of the most promising routes for studying fractional and non-Abelian statistics and quantum entanglement via two-particle interference. However, creating an edge-channel interferometer in which electron-electron interactions play an important role requires a clean system and long phase coherence lengths. We realize electronic Mach-Zehnder interferometers with record visibilities of up to 98% using spin- and valley-polarized edge channels that copropagate along a pn junction in graphene. We find that interchannel scattering between same-spin edge channels along the physical graphene edge can be used to form beamsplitters, whereas the absence of interchannel scattering along gate-defined interfaces can be used to form isolated interferometer arms. Surprisingly, our interferometer is robust to dephasing effects at energies an order of magnitude larger than those observed in pioneering experiments on GaAs/AlGaAs quantum wells. Lastly, our results shed light on the nature of edge-channel equilibration and open up new possibilities for studying exotic electron statistics and quantum phenomena.
Research Organization:
Harvard Univ., Cambridge, MA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
National Science Foundation (NSF); USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES) (SC-22). Materials Sciences & Engineering Division
Grant/Contract Number:
SC0001819
OSTI ID:
1463899
Journal Information:
Science Advances, Journal Name: Science Advances Journal Issue: 8 Vol. 3; ISSN 2375-2548
Publisher:
AAASCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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Cited By (16)

Fabry–Pérot resonances and a crossover to the quantum Hall regime in ballistic graphene quantum point contacts journal February 2019
Tunable interacting composite fermion phases in a half-filled bilayer-graphene Landau level journal September 2017
Effect of gap width on electron transport through quantum point contact in hBN/graphene/hBN in the quantum Hall regime journal January 2019
Michelson interferometry of high-order harmonic generation in solids journal July 2018
Stepped graphene-based Aharonov–Bohm interferometers journal September 2019
Splitting of conductance resonance through a magnetic quantum dot in graphene journal July 2019
Design of graphene waveguides: Effect of edge orientation and waveguide configuration journal September 2019
Interaction-induced interference in the integer quantum Hall effect journal March 2018
Graphene n − p junctions in the quantum Hall regime: Numerical study of incoherent scattering effects journal May 2018
Coexistence of classical snake states and Aharonov-Bohm oscillations along graphene p − n junctions journal July 2018
Taming electronic decoherence in one-dimensional chiral ballistic quantum conductors journal October 2018
Electrical generation and detection of spin waves in a quantum Hall ferromagnet journal October 2018
Splitting of conductance resonance through a magnetic quantum dot in graphene text January 2018
Stepped Graphene-based Aharonov-Bohm Interferometers text January 2018
Michelson Interferometry of High-order Harmonic Generation in Solids text January 2018
Co-existence of classical snake states and Aharanov-Bohm oscillations along graphene p-n junctions text January 2018

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