Abstract
We have investigated tunneling current through a suspended graphene Corbino disk in high magnetic fields at the Dirac point, i.e. at filling factor ν = 0. At the onset of the dielectric breakdown the current through the disk grows exponentially before ohmic behaviour, but in a manner distinct from thermal activation. We find that Zener tunneling between Landau sublevels dominates, facilitated by tilting of the source-drain bias potential. According to our analytic modelling, the Zener tunneling is strongly affected by the gyrotropic force (Lorentz force) due to the high magnetic field.
Highlights
The zero-energy Landau level is a unique feature of a graphene monolayer in a strong magnetic field[1]
Probability of quantum tunneling derived from the semiclassical theory based on the equations of vortex motion was confirmed by the results of the many-body approach based on the Gross–Pitaevskii equation[8] It is possible to demonstrate[9] how the theory of usual quantum tunneling for a massive electron governed by Newton’s law transforms to the theory based on the equation of vortex motion when the inertial force proportional to the electron mass becomes much weaker than the gyrotropic force (Magnus force on the vortex, or the Lorentz force on electrons in a strong magnetic field)
On the basis of inelastic electron - acoustic phonon scattering, the bootstrap electron heating (BSEH) model leads to Ec ∝ B3/2, which has been verified experimentally[28], but even in these experiments Ec extrapolates only to 14 kV/m at 9 T
Summary
The zero-energy Landau level is a unique feature of a graphene monolayer in a strong magnetic field[1]. Vortex-like equations of motion essentially modify the semiclassical theory of quantum tunneling For vortices it was first demonstrated by Volovik[7], who considered nucleation of a circular vortex half-loop near a plane boundary. Probability of quantum tunneling derived from the semiclassical theory based on the equations of vortex motion was confirmed by the results of the many-body approach based on the Gross–Pitaevskii equation[8] It is possible to demonstrate[9] how the theory of usual quantum tunneling for a massive electron governed by Newton’s law transforms to the theory based on the equation of vortex motion when the inertial force proportional to the electron mass becomes much weaker than the gyrotropic force (Magnus force on the vortex, or the Lorentz force on electrons in a strong magnetic field)
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