Magnetoresistance in n- and p-type Ag2Te: Mechanisms and applications

We compare the large magnetoresistive response of slightly nonstoichiometri c Ag2 +/-deltaTe for a wide range of hole (p less than or equal to 8 x 10(1 7) cm(-3)) and electron (n less than or equal to 4 x 10(18) cm(-3)) carrier densities. In the p-type material alone, a characteristic peak in the resi stivity rho(T,H) is dramatically enhanced and moves to higher temperature w ith increasing magnetic field, resulting in a high field (H similar to 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. (C) 2000 American Institute of Physics. [S0003-6951(00)02013-1].