Experimental Study of the Intrinsic and Extrinsic Transport Properties of Graphite and Multigraphene Samples

TL;DR

This study investigates the transport properties of graphite and multigraphene, revealing ballistic transport, intrinsic carrier density, and signs of granular superconductivity at interfaces, challenging previous interpretations of the metal-insulator transition.

Contribution

It provides new insights into the role of interfaces in graphite's transport properties and demonstrates superconductivity at unusually high temperatures within these interfaces.

Findings

Evidence for ballistic transport in mesoscopic graphite samples

Detection of granular superconductivity at interfaces with T_c above 150K

Superconducting-insulator transition attributed to interfaces, not intrinsic graphite

Abstract

This work deals with the intrinsic and extrinsic properties of the graphene layers inside the graphite structure, in particular the influence of defects and interfaces. We discuss the evidence for ballistic transport found in mesoscopic graphite samples and the possibility to obtain the intrinsic carrier density of graphite, without the need of free parameters or arbitrary assumptions. The influence of internal interfaces on the transport properties of bulk graphite is described in detail. We show that in specially prepared multigraphene samples the transport properties show clear signs for the existence of granular superconductivity within the graphite interfaces. We argue that the superconducting-insulator or metal-insulator transition (MIT) reported in the literature for bulk graphite is not intrinsic of the graphite structure but it is due to the influence of these interfaces. Current-Voltage characteristics curves reveal Josephson-like behavior at the interfaces with superconducting critical temperatures above 150K.