Localized charge carriers in graphene nanodevices
- Solid State Physics Laboratory, ETH Zurich, 8093 Zurich (Switzerland)
Graphene—two-dimensional carbon—is a material with unique mechanical, optical, chemical, and electronic properties. Its use in a wide range of applications was therefore suggested. From an electronic point of view, nanostructured graphene is of great interest due to the potential opening of a band gap, applications in quantum devices, and investigations of physical phenomena. Narrow graphene stripes called “nanoribbons” show clearly different electronical transport properties than micron-sized graphene devices. The conductivity is generally reduced and around the charge neutrality point, the conductance is nearly completely suppressed. While various mechanisms can lead to this observed suppression of conductance, disordered edges resulting in localized charge carriers are likely the main cause in a large number of experiments. Localized charge carriers manifest themselves in transport experiments by the appearance of Coulomb blockade diamonds. This review focuses on the mechanisms responsible for this charge localization, on interpreting the transport details, and on discussing the consequences for physics and applications. Effects such as multiple coupled sites of localized charge, cotunneling processes, and excited states are discussed. Also, different geometries of quantum devices are compared. Finally, an outlook is provided, where open questions are addressed.
- OSTI ID:
- 22483211
- Journal Information:
- Applied Physics Reviews, Vol. 2, Issue 3; Other Information: (c) 2015 AIP Publishing LLC; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 1931-9401
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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