Theory of 2D transport in graphene for correlated disorder

Abstract

We theoretically revisit graphene transport properties as a function of carrier density, taking into account possible correlations in the spatial distribution of the Coulomb impurity disorder in the environment. We find that the charged impurity correlations give rise to a density dependent graphene conductivity, which agrees well qualitatively with the existing experimental data. We also find, quite unexpectedly, that the conductivity could increase with increasing impurity density if there is sufficient inter-impurity correlation present in the system. In particular, the linearity (sublinearity) of graphene conductivity at lower (higher) gate voltage is naturally explained as arising solely from impurity correlation effects in the Coulomb disorder.