Impurity-scattering-induced carrier transport in twisted bilayer graphene

Abstract

We theoretically calculate the impurity-scattering-induced resistivity of twisted bilayer graphene at low twist angles where the graphene Fermi velocity is strongly suppressed. We consider, as a function of carrier density, twist angle, and temperature, both long-ranged Coulomb scattering and short-ranged defect scattering within a Boltzmann theory relaxation time approach. For experimentally relevant disorder, impurity scattering contributes a resistivity comparable to (much larger than) the phonon scattering contribution at high (low) temperatures. Decreasing twist angle leads to larger resistivity, and in general, the resistivity increases (decreases) with increasing temperature (carrier density). Inclusion of the van Hove singularity in the theory leads to a strong increase in the resistivity at higher densities, where the chemical potential is close to a van Hove singularity, leading to an apparent density-dependent plateau-type structure in the resistivity, which has been observed in recent transport experiments. We also show that the Matthiessen's rule is strongly violated in twisted bilayer graphene at low twist angles.