Gate-tunable Veselago interference in a bipolar graphene microcavity

The relativistic charge carriers in monolayer graphene can be manipulated in manners akin to conventional optics. Klein tunneling and Veselago lensing have been previously demonstrated in ballistic graphene pn-junction devices, but collimation and focusing efficiency remains relatively low, preventing realization of advanced quantum devices and controlled quantum interference. Here, we present a graphene microcavity defined by carefully-engineered local strain and electrostatic fields. Electrons are manipulated to form an interference path inside the cavity at zero magnetic field via consecutive Veselago refractions. The observation of unique Veselago interference peaks via transport measurement and their magnetic field dependence agrees with the theoretical expectation. We further utilize Veselago interference to demonstrate localization of uncollimated electrons and thus improvement in collimation efficiency. Our work sheds new light on relativistic single-particle physics and provide a new device concept toward next-generation quantum devices based on manipulation of ballistic electron trajectory. Charge carriers in graphene can be manipulated, e.g., collimated or focused, as in conventional optics but the efficiency of these processes remains low. Zhang et al. demonstrate interference of electrons in a novel graphene microcavity device and use it to enhance collimation efficiency of the electron flow.

Automated summary

Charge carriers in monolayer graphene can be manipulated using a graphene microcavity, which enables interference of electrons and enhances collimation efficiency.