Spatio-temporal dynamics in graphene

Abstract

Temporally and spectrally resolved dynamics of optically excited carriers in graphene has been intensively studied theoretically and experimentally, whereas carrier diffusion in space has attracted much less attention. Understanding the spatio-temporal carrier dynamics is of key importance for optoelectronic applications, where carrier transport phenomena play an important role. In this work, we provide a microscopic access to the time-, momentum-, and space-resolved dynamics of carriers in graphene. We determine the diffusion coefficient to be D ≈ 360 cm² s⁻¹ and reveal the impact of carrier–phonon and carrier–carrier scattering on the diffusion process. In particular, we show that phonon-induced scattering across the Dirac cone gives rise to back-diffusion counteracting the spatial broadening of the carrier distribution.