Abstract
In the nonstoichiometric low-temperature phase of silver selenide a very small silver excess within the semiconducting silver selenide matrix in the order of 0.01% is sufficient to generate a linear magnetoresistance (LMR) of more than 300% at 5 T, which does not saturate at fields up to 60 T. Different theoretical models have been proposed to explain this unusual magnetoresistance (MR) behavior, among them a random resistor network consisting of four-terminal resistor units. According to this model the LMR and the crossover field from linear to quadratic behavior are primarily controlled by both the spatial distribution of the charge-carrier mobility and its average value, being essentially functions of the local and average compositions. Here we report measurements on silver-rich thin ${\text{Ag}}_{x}\text{Se}$ films with a thickness between 20 nm and $2\text{ }\ensuremath{\mu}\text{m}$, which show an increasing average mobility in conjunction with an enhanced MR for increasing film thickness. We found a linear scaling between the size of the transverse LMR and the crossover field, as predicted by the theory. For films thinner than about 100 nm the MR with field directed in the sample plane shows a breakdown of the LMR, revealing the physical length scale of the inhomegeneities in thin ${\text{Ag}}_{x}\text{Se}$ devices.
Published Version
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call