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Chaotic dirac billiard in graphene quantum dots

Research output: Contribution to Journal/MagazineJournal articlepeer-review

Published
  • L. A. Ponomarenko
  • F. Schedin
  • M. I. Katsnelson
  • R. Yang
  • E. W. Hill
  • K. S. Novoselov
  • A. K. Geim
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<mark>Journal publication date</mark>18/04/2008
<mark>Journal</mark>Science
Issue number5874
Volume320
Number of pages3
Pages (from-to)356-358
Publication StatusPublished
<mark>Original language</mark>English

Abstract

The exceptional electronic properties of graphene, with its charge carriers mimicking relativistic quantum particles and its formidable potential in various applications, have ensured a rapid growth of interest in this new material. We report on electron transport in quantum dot devices carved entirely from graphene. At large sizes (>100 nanometers), they behave as conventional single-electron transistors, exhibiting periodic Coulomb blockade peaks. For quantum dots smaller than 100 nanometers, the peaks become strongly nonperiodic, indicating a major contribution of quantum confinement. Random peak spacing and its statistics are well described by the theory of chaotic neutrino billiards. Short constrictions of only a few nanometers in width remain conductive and reveal a confinement gap of up to 0.5 electron volt, demonstrating the possibility of molecular-scale electronics based on graphene.