Enhanced Faraday rotation in magnetophotonic crystal infiltrated with graphene

When electrons are confined in two-dimensional (2D) materials, quantum mechanically enhanced transport phenomena, as exemplified by the quantum Hall effects (QHE), can be observed. Graphene, an isolated single atomic layer of graphite, is an ideal realization of such a 2D system. Here, we report an experimental investigation of magneto transport in a high mobility single layer of graphene. Adjusting the chemical potential using the electric field effect, we observe an unusual half integer QHE for both electron and hole carriers in graphene. Vanishing effective carrier masses is observed at Dirac point in the temperature dependent Shubnikov de Haas oscillations, which probe the 'relativistic' Dirac particle-like dispersion. The relevance of Berry's phase to these experiments is confirmed by the phase shift of magneto-oscillations, related to the exceptional topology of the graphene band structure.

The so-called Klein paradox - unimpeded penetration of relativistic particles through high and wide potential barriers - is one of the most exotic and counterintuitive consequences of quantum electrodynamics (QED). The phenomenon is discussed in many contexts in particle, nuclear and astro- physics but direct tests of the Klein paradox using elementary particles have so far proved impossible. Here we show that the effect can be tested in a conceptually simple condensed-matter experiment by using electrostatic barriers in single- and bi-layer graphene. Due to the chiral nature of their quasiparticles, quantum tunneling in these materials becomes highly anisotropic, qualitatively different from the case of normal, nonrelativistic electrons. Massless Dirac fermions in graphene allow a close realization of Klein's gedanken experiment whereas massive chiral fermions in bilayer graphene offer an interesting complementary system that elucidates the basic physics involved.

The focusing of electric current by a single \textit{p-n} junction in graphene is predicted. We show that precise focusing can be achieved by fine-tuning the densities of carriers on the n- and p-sides of the junction to equal values, whereas the current distribution in junctions with different densities resembles caustics in optics. This finding can be utilized in the engineering of electronic lenses and focused beam-splitters using gate-controlled \textit{n-p-n} junctions in graphene-based transistors.