Coherent vs incoherent interlayer transport in layered metals

The magnetic-field, temperature, and angular dependence of the interlayer magnetoresistance of two different quasi-two-dimensional (2D) organic superconductors is reported. For $\kappa$-(BEDT-TTF)$_2$I$_3$ we find a well-resolved peak in the angle-dependent magnetoresistance at $\Theta = 90^\circ$ (field parallel to the layers). This clear-cut proof for the coherent nature of the interlayer transport is absent for $\beta$''-(BEDT-TTF)$_2$SF$_5$CH$_2$CF$_2$SO$_3$. This and the non-metallic behavior of the magnetoresistance suggest an incoherent quasiparticle motion for the latter 2D metal.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures. Phys. Rev. B, in pres

Quantum Oscillations of Electrons and of Composite Fermions in Two Dimensions: Beyond the Luttinger Expansion

Quantum oscillation phenomena, in conventional 2-dimensional electron systems and in the fractional quantum Hall effect, are usually treated in the Lifshitz-Kosevich formalism. This is justified in three dimensions by Luttinger's expansion, in the parameter $omega_c/\mu$. We show that in two dimensions this expansion breaks down, and derive a new expression, exact in the limit where rainbow graphs dominate the self-energy. Application of our results to the fractional quantum Hall effect near half-filling shows very strong deviations from Lifshitz-Kosevich behaviour. We expect that such deviations will be important in any strongly-interacting 2-dimensional electronic system.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, LaTe

Slow oscillations of magnetoresistance in quasi-two-dimensional metals

Slow oscillations of the interlayer magnetoresistance observed in the layered organic metal $\beta$-(BEDT-TTF)$_2$IBr$_2$ are shown to originate from the slight warping of its Fermi surface rather than from independent small cyclotron orbits. Unlike the usual Shubnikov-de Haas effect, these oscillations are not affected by the temperature smearing of the Fermi distribution and can therefore become dominant at high enough temperatures. We suggest that the slow oscillations are a general feature of clean quasi-two-dimensional metals and discuss possible applications of the phenomenon.Comment: 11 pages, 3 figure

Comparison of coherent and weakly incoherent transport models for the interlayer magnetoresistance of layered Fermi liquids

The interlayer magnetoresistance of layered metals in a tilted magnetic field is calculated for two distinct models for the interlayer transport. The first model involves coherent interlayer transport and makes use of results of semi-classical or Bloch-Boltzmann transport theory. The second model involves weakly incoherent interlayer transport where the electron is scattered many times within a layer before tunneling into the next layer. The results are relevant to the interpretation of experiments on angular-dependent magnetoresistance oscillations (AMRO) in quasi-one- and quasi-two-dimensional metals. We find that the dependence of the magnetoresistance on the direction of the magnetic field is identical for both models except when the field is almost parallel to the layers. An important implication of this result is that a three-dimensional Fermi surface is not necessary for the observation of the Yamaji and Danner oscillations seen in quasi-two- and quasi-one-dimensional metals, respectively. A universal expression is given for the dependence of the resistance at AMRO maxima and minima on the magnetic field and scattering time (and thus the temperature). We point out three distinctive features of coherent interlayer transport: (i) a beat frequency in the magnetic oscillations of quasi-two-dimensional systems, (ii) a peak in the angular-dependent magnetoresistance when the field is sufficiently large and parallel to the layers, and (iii) a crossover from a linear to a quadratic field dependence for the magnetoresistance when the field is parallel to the layers. Properties (i) and (ii) are compared with published experimental data for a range of quasi-two-dimensional organic metals and for Sr2RuO4.Comment: 21 pages, RevTeX + epsf, 4 figures. Published version. Subsection added. References update

Magnetic field - temperature phase diagram of the organic conductor alpha-(BEDT-TTF)2KHg(SCN)4

We present systematic magnetic torque studies of the ``magnetic field - temperature'' phase diagram of the layered organic conductor alpha-(BEDT-TTF)2KHg(SCN)4 at fields nearly perpendicular and nearly parallel to the highly conducting plane. The shape of the phase diagram is compared to that predicted for a charge-density-wave system in a broad field range.Comment: 3 RevTEX pages, 3 PS figures, to be published in JETP Let

Orbital effect of a magnetic field on the low temperature state in the organic metal α\alpha-(BEDT-TTF)2_2KHg(SCN)4_4

The effect of pressure on the B--T phase diagram of $\alpha$-(BEDT-TTF)$_2$KHg(SCN)$_4$ is studied. The measured phase lines can be well described by a recent model of a charge-density wave system with varying nesting conditions. A remarkable increase of the transition temperature with magnetic field is found in a certain pressure and field range. We associate this result with a dramatic enhancement of the orbital effect of magnetic field due to a deterioration of the nesting conditions by pressure. Furthermore, we present data which can be interpreted as a first sign of field-induced charge-density waves.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figure

Incoherent interlayer transport and angular-dependent magnetoresistance oscillations in layered metals

The effect of incoherent interlayer transport on the interlayer resistance of a layered metal is considered. We find that for both quasi-one-dimensional and quasi-two-dimensional Fermi liquids the angular dependence of the magnetoresistance is essentially the same for coherent and incoherent transport. Consequently, the existence of a three-dimensional Fermi surface is not necessary to explain the oscillations in the magnetoresistance that are seen in many organic conductors as the field direction is varied. [S0031-9007(98)07660-1]

Sawtooth chemical potential oscillations in the strongly 2D organic metal κ-(BEDT-TTF)2I3 at high Landau level filling factors

In the strongly two-dimensional (2D) organic metal K-(BEDT- TTF)(2)I-3, sawtooth oscillations of the chemical potential mu are observed by means of Shubnikov-de Haas and de Haas-van Alphen experiments. The sawtooth shape of these oscillations of mu corresponds to the behaviour of a 2D canonical ensemble of electrons. In contrast to preceding investigations, the simple method described here probes mu, directly and reveals oscillations of g with the quantum oscillation frequency F-0 = 13T. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved

Electron correlations in the 2D organic metal κ-(BEDT-TTF)2I3 at high Landau level filling factors

In the two-dimensional (21)) multilayer organic metal kappa- (BEDT-TTF)(2)I-3 strong electron correlations are present at magnetic fields B > 12 T and temperatures T < 1 K. These correlations manifest themselves in strong anomalous damping effects of magnetoquantum oscillations at high magnetic fields, which are controlled by the low Landau level filling factors v < 3 in a part of the Fermi surface (FS). It is found that the electron correlations capture all electrons of the FS, including even the parts with very high v. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved