Mesoscopic Klein-Schwinger effect in graphene
Language
en
Article de revue
This item was published in
Nature Physics. 2023
Nature Publishing Group
Date
2023English Abstract
Strong electric field annihilation by particle–antiparticle pair creation, also known as the Schwinger effect, is a non-perturbative prediction of quantum electrodynamics. Its experimental demonstration remains elusive, ...Read more >
Strong electric field annihilation by particle–antiparticle pair creation, also known as the Schwinger effect, is a non-perturbative prediction of quantum electrodynamics. Its experimental demonstration remains elusive, as threshold electric fields are extremely strong and beyond current reach. Here, we propose a mesoscopic variant of the Schwinger effect in graphene, which hosts Dirac fermions with an approximate electron–hole symmetry. Using transport measurements, we report on universal one-dimensional Schwinger conductance at the pinchoff of ballistic graphene transistors. Strong pinchoff electric fields are concentrated within approximately 1 μm of the transistor’s drain and induce Schwinger electron–hole pair creation at saturation. This effect precedes a collective instability towards an ohmic Zener regime, which is rejected at twice the pinchoff voltage in long devices. These observations advance our understanding of current saturation limits in ballistic graphene and provide a direction for further quantum electrodynamic experiments in the laboratory.Read less <
European Project
Graphene Flagship Core Project 3
ANR Project
University of Bordeaux Graduate Scholl in Light Sciences & Technologies
Origin
Hal imported