Local breakdown of the quantum Hall effect in narrow single layer graphene Hall devices

We have analyzed the breakdown of the quantum Hall effect in 1μm wide Hall devices fabricated from an exfoliated monolayer graphene transferred on SiOx. We have observed that the deviation of the Hall resistance from its quantized value is weakly dependent on the longitudinal resistivity up to a current density of 5 A/m, where the Hall resistance remains quantized even when the longitudinal resistance increases monotonously with the current. Then a collapse in the quantized resistance occurs while longitudinal resistance keeps its gradual increase. The exponential increase of the conductivity with respect to the current suggests impurity mediated inter-Landau level scattering as the mechanism of the breakdown. The results are interpreted as the strong variation of the breakdown behavior throughout the sample due to the randomly distributed scattering centers that mediates the breakdown.

► The breakdown of the quantum Hall effect in narrow monolayer graphene samples is analyzed.
► Collapse of the quantized Hall resistance is separated from the longitudinal resistance.
► Activated behavior in the longitudinal resistance complies with the QUILLS model.
► Random distribution of the scattering centers leads to strong variation of the breakdown behavior.