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Phys. Rev. Lett. 102, 206602 (2009) [4 pages]

Directional Field-Induced Metallization of Quasi-One-Dimensional Li0.9Mo6O17

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Xiaofeng Xu1, A. F. Bangura1, J. G. Analytis1,*, J. D. Fletcher1, M. M. J. French1, N. Shannon1, J. He2, S. Zhang2, D. Mandrus3, R. Jin3,4, and N. E. Hussey1
1H. H. Wills Physics Laboratory, University of Bristol, Tyndall Avenue, BS8 1TL, United Kingdom
2Department of Physics and Astronomy, Clemson University, Clemson, South Carolina 29631, USA
3Materials Science and Technology Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831, USA
4Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996, USA

Received 11 December 2008; revised 3 March 2009; published 20 May 2009

We report a detailed magnetotransport study of the highly anisotropic quasi-one-dimensional oxide Li0.9Mo6O17 whose in-chain electrical resistivity diverges below a temperature Tmin⁡∼25  K. For T<Tmin⁡, a magnetic field applied parallel to the conducting chain induces a large negative magnetoresistance and, ultimately, the recovery of a metallic state. We show evidence that this insulator-metal crossover is a consequence of field-induced suppression of a density-wave gap in a highly one-dimensional conductor. At the highest fields studied, there is evidence for the possible emergence of a novel superconducting state with an onset temperature Tc>10  K.

© 2009 The American Physical Society

URL:
http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevLett.102.206602
DOI:
10.1103/PhysRevLett.102.206602
PACS:
72.15.Gd, 72.20.−i, 72.80.Ga, 74.10.+v

*Present address: Geballe Laboratory for Advanced Materials and Department of Applied Physics, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305-4045, USA.

 
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