Multilayer graphene shows intrinsic resistance peaks in the carrier density dependence

TL;DR

This study reveals intrinsic resistance peaks in four-layer graphene related to its band structure, providing new insights into multilayer graphene physics and implications for graphene-based electronic devices.

Contribution

It uncovers intrinsic resistance peaks in multilayer graphene, specifically four-layer, linked to its band structure, which was not previously well understood.

Findings

Intrinsic resistance peaks observed at zero magnetic field.

Quantum oscillations confirm peaks originate from band structure.

Peaks are characteristic of AB-stacked multilayer graphene.

Abstract

Since the advent of graphene, a variety of studies have been performed to elucidate its fundamental physics, or to explore its practical applications. Gate-tunable resistance is one of the most important properties of graphene and has been studied in 1-3 layer graphene in a number of efforts to control the band gap to obtain a large on-off ratio. On the other hand, the transport property of multilayer graphene with more than three layers is less well understood. Here we show a new aspect of multilayer graphene. We found that four-layer graphene shows intrinsic peak structures in the gate voltage dependence of its resistance at zero magnetic field. Measurement of quantum oscillations in magnetic field confirmed that the peaks originate from the specific band structure of graphene and appear at the carrier density for the bottoms of conduction bands and valence bands. The intrinsic peak structures should generally be observed in AB-stacked multilayer graphene. The present results would be significant for understanding the physics of graphene and making graphene FET devices.