Tunable Charge Density Wave Transport in a Current-Effect Transistor

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates how a transverse current in a transistor-like device can modulate charge density wave conduction, significantly lowering the depinning threshold and enabling easier sliding of CDWs under nonequilibrium conditions.

Contribution

It introduces a novel method to control charge density wave transport using a transverse current, supported by experimental results aligning with a new dynamical model.

Findings

Transverse current reduces the CDW depinning threshold exponentially.

The experimental results agree with the proposed 'ironing' model of wavefronts.

Potential implications for vortex lattices and striped phases in superconductors.

Abstract

The collective charge density wave (CDW) conduction is modulated by a transverse single-particle current in a transistor-like device. Nonequilibrium conditions in this geometry lead to an exponential reduction of the depinning threshold, allowing the CDWs to slide for much lower bias fields. The results are in excellent agreement with a recently proposed dynamical model in which ''wrinkles'' in the CDW wavefronts are ''ironed'' by the transverse current. The experiment might have important implications for other driven periodic media, such as moving vortex lattices or ''striped phases'' in high-Tc superconductors.