GIANT MAGNETORESISTANCE IN ZERO-BAND-GAP HG1-XCDXTE

The exceptionally high carrier mobilities found in zero-gap Hg1-xCdxTe (x approximate to 0.10) give rise to giant magnetoresistance (GMR). A two-carrier, high-field model provides a good description of the magn etoresistance and Hall effect at temperatures 6<T<300 K and magnetic f ields up to H=10 T. The high-field data have a significant influence o n the interpretation of the low-held results, in particular revealing the presence of accepters despite the fact that the low-held Hall coef ficient is negative. Surprisingly, at low fields the curvature of the GMR, d(2)R/dH(2), is larger than that expected by up to a factor 30. T he enhancement of the GMR makes Hg1-xCdxTe potentially useful for read -head devices for magnetic media. [S0163-1829(98)09419-3].