Journal Article

Ultrasensitive and Wide-Bandwidth Thermal Measurements of Graphene at Low Temperatures

Fong, Kin Chung, Schwab, K. C.

2012

Overview

At low temperatures, the electron gas of graphene is expected to show both very weak coupling to thermal baths and rapid thermalization, properties which are desirable for use as a sensitive bolometer. We demonstrate an ultrasensitive, wide-bandwidth measurement scheme based on Johnson noise to probe the thermal-transport and thermodynamic properties of the electron gas of graphene, with a resolution of 2mK/Hz and a bandwidth of 80 MHz. We have measured the electron-phonon coupling directly through energy transport, from 2–30 K and at a charge density of 2×1011cm−2 . We demonstrate bolometric mixing and utilize this effect to sense temperature oscillations with a period of 430 ps and determine the heat capacity of the electron gas to be 2×10−21J/(K·μm2) at 5 K, which is consistent with that of a two-dimensional Dirac electron gas. These measurements suggest that graphene-based devices, together with wide-bandwidth noise thermometry, can generate substantial advances in the areas of ultrasensitive bolometry, calorimetry, microwave and terahertz photo-detection, and bolometric mixing for applications in fields such as observational astronomy and quantum information and measurement.

• Publisher: American Physical Society
• Subject: Astronomy / Bandwidths / Bolometers / Charge density / Circuits / Coupling / Current carriers / Electrical resistivity / Electron gas / Electronic properties / Electrons / Graphene / Heat / Heat transfer / Heating / High temperature effects / Low temperature / Measurement techniques / Noise / Noise generation / Phonons / Physicists / Room temperature / Specific heat / Temperature / Thermal conductivity / Thermal noise / Thermalization (energy absorption) / Thermodynamic properties