Charge density waves in the graphene sheets of the superconductor CaC6

K.C. Rahnejat (), C.A. Howard (), N.E. Shuttleworth, S.R. Schofield, K. Iwaya, C.F. Hirjibehedin, Ch. Renner, G. Aeppli and M. Ellerby
Additional contact information
K.C. Rahnejat: London Centre for Nanotechnology, UCL
C.A. Howard: London Centre for Nanotechnology, UCL
N.E. Shuttleworth: London Centre for Nanotechnology, UCL
S.R. Schofield: London Centre for Nanotechnology, UCL
K. Iwaya: World Premier International (WPI) Research Center, Advanced Institute for Materials Research, Tohoku University
C.F. Hirjibehedin: London Centre for Nanotechnology, UCL
Ch. Renner: University of Geneva, 24 Quai E.-Ansermet, 1211 Geneva 4, Switzerland.
G. Aeppli: London Centre for Nanotechnology, UCL
M. Ellerby: London Centre for Nanotechnology, UCL

Nature Communications, 2011, vol. 2, issue 1, 1-6

Abstract: Abstract Graphitic systems have an electronic structure that can be readily manipulated through electrostatic or chemical doping, resulting in a rich variety of electronic ground states. Here we report the first observation and characterization of electronic stripes in the highly electron-doped graphitic superconductor, CaC6, by scanning tunnelling microscopy and spectroscopy. The stripes correspond to a charge density wave with a period three times that of the Ca superlattice. Although the positions of the Ca intercalants are modulated, no displacements of the carbon lattice are detected, indicating that the graphene sheets host the ideal charge density wave. This provides an exceptionally simple material—graphene—as a starting point for understanding the relation between stripes and superconductivity. Furthermore, our experiments suggest a strategy to search for superconductivity in graphene, namely in the vicinity of striped 'Wigner crystal' phases, where some of the electrons crystallize to form a superlattice.

Date: 2011
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms1574 Abstract (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nat:natcom:v:2:y:2011:i:1:d:10.1038_ncomms1574

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://www.nature.com/ncomms/

DOI: 10.1038/ncomms1574

Access Statistics for this article

Nature Communications is currently edited by Nathalie Le Bot, Enda Bergin and Fiona Gillespie

More articles in Nature Communications from Nature
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().