Angle-dependent magnetoresistance in the weakly incoherent interlayer transport regime

TL;DR

This study investigates how strong magnetic fields affect interlayer resistance in organic conductors, revealing that lower-quality samples exhibit behavior inconsistent with existing theories due to incoherent charge transport.

Contribution

It provides experimental evidence of angle-dependent magnetoresistance behavior in the weakly incoherent regime, challenging current theoretical understanding.

Findings

Lower-quality samples show resistance depending only on out-of-plane magnetic field component.

Incoherent charge transport leads to deviations from existing theoretical predictions.

Differences in behavior are linked to crystal quality and coherence of charge transport.

Abstract

We present comparative studies of the orientation effect of a strong magnetic field on the interlayer resistance of $\alpha$-(BEDT-TTF)$_2$KHg(SCN)$_4$ samples characterized by different crystal quality. We find striking differences in their behavior which is attributed to the breakdown of the coherent charge transport across the layers in the lower quality sample. In the latter case, the nonoscillating magnetoresistance background is essentially a function of only the out-of-plane field component, in contradiction to the existing theory.