Charge density wave transport in inorganic linear chain compounds

Abstract

In quasi-one dimensional inorganic conductors such as the transition metal trichalcogenides NbSe3, TaS3, the tetrachalcogenides (TaSe4)2I, (NbSe4)10/3I and the molybdenum blue bronzes A0.30MoO3 (A = K, Rb, T1) a new collective transport by the macroscopic sliding of a so-called charge density wave through the lattice has been reported. We review the structural and electronic properties of these different classes of materials and describe their intriguing non linear transport properties associated with the charge density wave motion : threshold electric field, noise phenomena, response to ac fields, hysteresis and memory effects. We survey some relevant theoretical models for the dynamics of the charge density wave.