High-order fractal states in graphene superlattices

Graphene superlattices were shown to exhibit high-temperature quantum oscillations due to periodic emergence of delocalized Bloch states in high magnetic fields such that unit fractions of the flux quantum pierce a superlattice unit cell. Under these conditions, semiclassical electron trajectories b...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Krishna Kumar, R., Mishchenko, A., Chen, X., Pezzini, S., Auton, G.H., Ponomarenko, L.A., Zeitler, U., Eaves, Laurence, Fal’ko, V.I., Geim, A.K.
Format: Article
Published: National Academy of Sciences 2018
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Online Access:https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/51866/
Description
Summary:Graphene superlattices were shown to exhibit high-temperature quantum oscillations due to periodic emergence of delocalized Bloch states in high magnetic fields such that unit fractions of the flux quantum pierce a superlattice unit cell. Under these conditions, semiclassical electron trajectories become straight again, similar to the case of zero magnetic field. Here, we report magnetotransport measurements that reveal second-, third-, and fourth-order magnetic Bloch states at high electron densities and temperatures above 100 K. The recurrence of these states creates a fractal pattern intimately related to the origin of Hofstadter butterflies. The hierarchy of the fractal states is determined by the width of magnetic minibands, in qualitative agreement with our band-structure calculations.