Gate-Tunable Quantum Acoustoelectric Transport in Graphene.

Abstract

Transport probes the motion of quasi-particles in response to external excitations. Apart from the well-known electric and thermoelectric transport, acoustoelectric transport induced by traveling acoustic waves has rarely been explored. Here, by adopting hybrid nanodevices integrated with piezoelectric substrates, we establish a simple design of acoustoelectric transport with gate tunability. We fabricate dual-gated acoustoelectric devices based on hBN-encapsulated graphene on LiNbO₃. Longitudinal and transverse acoustoelectric voltages are generated by launching a pulsed surface acoustic wave. The gate dependence of zero-field longitudinal acoustoelectric signal presents strikingly similar profiles to that of Hall resistivity, providing a valid approach for extracting carrier density without magnetic field. In magnetic fields, acoustoelectric quantum oscillations appear due to Landau quantization, which are more robust and pronounced than Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations. Our work demonstrates a feasible acoustoelectric setup with gate tunability, which can be extended to the broad scope of various van der Waals materials.