https://doi.org/10.1140/epjb/e2002-00320-9
High field transport properties of La2-xSrxCuO4 epitaxial thin films
Laboratorium voor Vaste-Stoffysica en Magnetisme, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven,
Celestijnenlaan 200D, 3001 Leuven, Belgium
Corresponding author: a liesbet.weckhuysen@fys.kuleuven.ac.be
Received:
4
January
2002
Revised:
7
May
2002
Published online:
14
October
2002
We have studied the temperature dependent resistivity of La2-xSrxCuO4 epitaxial thin films in the doping range
in pulsed magnetic fields up to 50 T. The zero-field resistivity
of these samples in the pseudogap
regime, can be scaled onto one single universal curve in a broad temperature range by using a linear transformation of
both temperature and resistivity. The high field data
reveal a metal to insulator transition (MIT) at low
temperatures, well into the overdoped regime. For samples
having
, with kF the Fermi wave vector and l the
mean free path, this low temperature insulating behavior of the resistivity is described by the variable range hopping
conductivity (VRH). For samples with
, the divergence follows
or a power law, depending upon
the Sr-content. We further found that the residual conductivity at the minimum in
, appearing due to the MIT,
follows a linear behavior with respect to the Sr-content. It is argued that the unusual MIT in compounds with
, is
most probably associated with the pseudogap and the behavior of charge stripes at low temperatures.
PACS: 74.25.Fy – Transport properties / 74.25.jb – Electronic structure
© EDP Sciences, Società Italiana di Fisica, Springer-Verlag, 2002