CAREER: Quantum Transport of Charges in Graphene

University Of California-Riverside, Riverside CA

Investigators

Abstract

Technical: The goal of this Faculty Early Career Development at University of California, Riverside (UCR) is to experimentally investigate quantum transport of charges in graphene devices coupled to normal and superconducting electrodes. Graphene is a single layer of carbon atoms, and has attracted tremendous attention since its experimental isolation in 2004. Electrons in graphene behave like relativistic, massless Dirac fermions, and are predicted to exhibit novel phenomena such as Veselago lensing (optics-like focusing of charges). Its materials properties, such as high electrical and thermal conductivity, have made it a highly desirable electronic material for post-silicon device engineering. This project will provide important information on the fundamental electrical properties of graphene, and enable new functionalities in graphene-based electronic devices. In addition, this project explores the interplay between superconductivity and relativistic particles, which is expected to give rise to novel phenomena such as chargeless transport of thermopower and spin. An educational extension of the research efforts is the development of a laboratory course, Fabrication and Characterization of Nanostructures, that aims at bringing modern tools and excitement to undergraduate physics education. Taking advantage of the ethnic diversity of UCR's student population and local communities, this project will actively involve high school, undergraduate, and graduate students, especially minority and women, in cutting-edge research. Non-technical: The goal of this Faculty Early Career Development at University of California, Riverside (UCR) is to experimentally investigate the electrical properties of graphene coupled to normal and superconducting electrodes. Graphene, first experimentally isolated in 2004, consists of carbon atoms only one atomic layer thick, with the unique characteristic that its electrons behave as if they have zero mass. This fascinating attribute of graphene is predicted to give rise to many novel phenomena, such as Veselago lensing (optics-like focusing of electron rays), that may enable new types of devices. Combined with its highly desirable materials properties, such as high electrical and thermal conductivity, graphene has attracted tremendous interest as a post-silicon electronic material. This project will provide important information on the fundamental electrical properties of graphene, and enable new functionalities in graphene-based electronic devices. An educational extension of the research effort is the development of a laboratory course (Fabrication and Characterization of Nanostructures) that aims at bringing modern tools and excitement to undergraduate physics education. Taking advantage of the ethnic diversity of UCR's student population and local communities, this project will actively involve high school, undergraduate, and graduate students, especially minority and women, in cutting-edge research.