Mid-IR Excitation of Graphene

In this research we investigate how the conductivity of graphene changes in response to mid-infrared photoexcitation. Our p-type sample was formed through chemical vapor deposition. Pump/probe methodology produced the time-resolved Terahertz transmission, from which the photoconductivity was calculated. We probed the sample with energies above and below the Fermi energy, which was determined by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Our results support a model in which heating of the electron gas, leading to high carrier scattering rates, is responsible for a decrease in conductivity. We observe this negative photoconductivity at all pump energies, allowing us to rule out the possibility of population inversion to explain the results