Critical fields and magnetoresistance in the molecular superconductors (TMTSF) 2X

Abstract

The resistive transition to the superconducting state in the quasi-one dimensional molecular organic metal (TMTSF) 2PF 6 has been measured under 6 kbar pressure for magnetic fields applied along the intrachain (a), interchain (b′) and interplane (c *) directions. Pronounced positive curvature in H c2(T) is observed, with no sign of saturation, in the basal plane directions a and b′, in contrast to previous publications on this material, but similar to recent results by Lee, et al. on a related compound, (TMTSF) 2ClO 4. A new crossover or reversal of anisotropy occurs near T c/2, below which the critical field along b′ exceeds that along a. Moreover, H c2 in these directions exceeds the Chandrasekhar-Clogston limit, reaching as much as 3 times H CC. The normal state magnetoresistance displays peculiar behavior in both materials at low temperature, with a local maximum in the vicinity of the superconducting transition. In addition, we report on a new series of angular magnetoresistance oscillations observed in both the ClO 4 and PF 6 salts.