Common-Path Interference and Zener Tunneling in Bilayer Graphene p-n Junctions

Abstract: Interference and tunneling are two signature quantum effects that are often perceived as the yin and yang of quantum mechanics: particle simultaneously propagating along several distinct classical paths versus particle penetrating through a classically inaccessible region via a single least-action path. Here we demonstrate that the Dirac quasiparticles in graphene provide a dramatic departure from this paradigm. We show that Zener tunneling in gapped bilayer graphene (BLG), which governs transport through p-n heterojunctions, exhibits common-path interference that takes place under the tunnel barrier. Due to a symmetry peculiar to the BLG bandstructure, interfering tunneling paths form `conjugate pairs', giving rise to high-contrast oscillations in transmission as a function of the gate-tunable bandgap and other control parameters of the junction. The common-path interference is solely due to forward-propagating waves; in contrast to Fabry-Perot-type interference in resonant tunneling structures it does not rely on multiple backscattering. The oscillations manifest themselves in the junction I-V characteristic as N-shaped branches with negative differential conductivity, enabling new high-speed active-circuit devices with architectures which are not available in electronic semiconductor devices.