QMO Lab
Thermionic Cascade in Graphene-Boron Nitride Heterostructures
Abstract
We stack-engineer an optically gated thermionic valve which acts as a thermometer
for hot electronic charge carriers. Through pulsed photoexcitation of encapsulated
graphene-boron nitride-graphene heterostructure devices, we trigger picosecond
charge carrier transit through an ultrathin BN barrier. The resultant interlayer
photoconductance exhibits extraordinary enhancement near the charge neutrality
(Dirac) point of graphene. We attribute this to ultrafast thermionic cascade arising
from an elevated electronic temperature from the rapidly thermalizing electrons and
holes. The electronic temperature was found to peak at the Dirac point and reaches
well above 2000 K. This Dirac point thermionic cascade can also be dramatically
quenched via electrical control at low temperatures, which indicates
unconventional-yet highly efficient- cooling pathways that serve as a hallmark of
Dirac electron-hole plasma in graphene.