Magnetoresistance in n- and p-type Ag[sub 2]Te: Mechanisms and applications.

We compare the large magnetoresistive response of slightly nonstoichiometric Ag[sub 2±δ]Te for a wide range of hole (p<=8x10[sup 17] cm[sup -3]) and electron (n≤4x10[sup 18] cm[sup -3]) carrier densities. In the p-type material alone, a characteristic peak in the resistivity ρ(T,H) is dramatically enhanced and moves to higher temperature with increasing magnetic field, resulting in a high field (H∼5 T) magnetoresistance that is sizeable even at room temperature. By contrast, n-type specimens are geared for low-field (H<0.1 T) applications because of a striking linear field dependence of the magnetoresistance that appears to be restricted to the Ag-rich materials. © 2000 American Institute of Physics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]