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Chaotic Dirac Billiard in Graphene Quantum Dots
L. A. Ponomarenko, F. Schedin, M. I. Katsnelson, R. Yang, E. W. Hill, K. S. Novoselov, A. K. Geim
Science. 2008;320(5874):356-358.
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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.