27 September 2009 | F. Guinea1*, M. I. Katsnelson2 and A. K. Geim3*
The paper explores the use of strain engineering to induce strong gauge fields in graphene, which can act as a uniform magnetic field exceeding 10 Tesla. This pseudomagnetic field, created by applying stresses with triangular symmetry, results in a quantizing field that leads to an insulating bulk and a pair of countercirculating edge states, similar to a topological insulator. The authors suggest realistic methods to create and observe this quantum state, including using strained superlattices to open significant energy gaps in graphene's electronic spectrum. They demonstrate that by applying stresses with specific triangular symmetry, a uniform pseudomagnetic field can be generated, leading to observable energy gaps and a pseudo-quantum Hall effect. The study also discusses the experimental challenges and potential techniques for verifying the pseudo-Landau quantization, such as Raman spectroscopy and transport measurements.The paper explores the use of strain engineering to induce strong gauge fields in graphene, which can act as a uniform magnetic field exceeding 10 Tesla. This pseudomagnetic field, created by applying stresses with triangular symmetry, results in a quantizing field that leads to an insulating bulk and a pair of countercirculating edge states, similar to a topological insulator. The authors suggest realistic methods to create and observe this quantum state, including using strained superlattices to open significant energy gaps in graphene's electronic spectrum. They demonstrate that by applying stresses with specific triangular symmetry, a uniform pseudomagnetic field can be generated, leading to observable energy gaps and a pseudo-quantum Hall effect. The study also discusses the experimental challenges and potential techniques for verifying the pseudo-Landau quantization, such as Raman spectroscopy and transport measurements.