Magnetoresistance and conductivity exponents of quench-condensed ultra-thin films of Bi

Abstract We have studied the magnetoresistance (MR) and evolution of conductivity with thickness of quench-condensed Bismuth films on substrates of various dielectric constants. Our results indicate a negative intial MR proportional to the square of the magnetic field. The conductance shows a power-law kind of dependence on thickness, with an exponent close to 1.33, characterisitic of a 2-D percolating system, only when the films are grown on a thin (∼10 A) Germanium underlayer but not otherwise.