Electron scattering on microscopic corrugations in graphene

Abstract

We discuss various scattering mechanisms for Dirac fermions in single-layer graphene. It is shown that scattering on a short-range potential (e.g. due to neutral impurities) is mostly irrelevant for electronic quality of graphene, which is likely to be controlled by charged impurities and ripples (microscopic corrugations of a graphene sheet). The latter are an inherent feature of graphene due to its two-dimensional nature and can also be an important factor in defining the electron mean-free path. We show that certain types of ripples create a long-range scattering potential, similar to Coulomb scatterers, and result in charge-carrier mobility practically independent of carrier concentration, in agreement with experimental observations.