Nonequilibrium fluctuations as a distinctive feature of weak localization

Abstract

Two-dimensional materials, such as graphene, topological insulators, and two-dimensional electron gases, represent a technological playground to develop coherent electronics. In these systems, quantum interference effects, and in particular weak localization, are likely to occur. These coherence effects are usually characterized by well-defined features in dc electrical transport, such as a resistivity increase and negative magnetoresistance below a crossover temperature. Recently, it has been shown that in magnetic and superconducting compounds, undergoing a weak-localization transition, a specific low-frequency 1/f noise occurs. An interpretation in terms of nonequilibrium universal conductance fluctuations has been given. The universality of this unusual electric noise mechanism has been here verified by detailed voltage-spectral density investigations on ultrathin copper films. The reported experimental results validate the proposed theoretical framework, and also provide an alternative methodology to detect weak-localization effects by using electric noise spectroscopy.