Quantum interference in a macroscopic van der Waals conductor

Quantum corrections to charge transport can give rise to an oscillatory magnetoconductance, typically observed in mesoscopic samples with a length shorter than or comparable with the phase coherence length. Here, we report the observation of magnetoconductance oscillations periodic in magnetic field...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:arXiv.org 2016-09
Main Authors: Rischau, C W, Wiedmann, S, Seyfarth, G, LeBoeuf, D, Behnia, K, Fauqué, B
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Charge transport
Chemical potential
Coherence length
Conductors
Interference
Organic chemistry
Periodic variations
Phase coherence
Pyrolytic graphite
Superlattices
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Summary:Quantum corrections to charge transport can give rise to an oscillatory magnetoconductance, typically observed in mesoscopic samples with a length shorter than or comparable with the phase coherence length. Here, we report the observation of magnetoconductance oscillations periodic in magnetic field with an amplitude of the order of \(e^2/h\) in macroscopic samples of Highly Oriented Pyrolytic Graphite (HOPG). The observed effect emerges when all carriers are confined to their lowest Landau levels. We argue that this quantum interference phenomenon can be explained by invoking moiré superlattices with a discrete distribution in periodicity. According to our results, when the magnetic length \(\ell_B\), the Fermi wave length \(\lambda_F\) and the length scale of fluctuations in local chemical potential are comparable in a layered conductor, quantum corrections can be detected over centimetric length scales.
ISSN:2331-8422
DOI:10.48550/arxiv.1609.08026