Abstract
Pressure-induced metal-semiconductor transitions in bismuth-antimony alloys in a strong magnetic field (up to 70 kOe) at helium temperatures have been investigated. It is found that for values of the “overlap-gap” |G|≲1 meV the alloy forms an excitonic insulator (EI) in magnetic fields above a certain “threshold” (30–40 kOe). It is inferred that the EI energy gapΔ increases with the magnetic field. The maximum gap observed in fields of ∼70 kOe turns out to beΔ 00∼7.5 K. An analysis of the results shows that transitions to the EI phase are observed from both the semimetal and the semiconducting states. The critical transition temperatureT c is related to the EI gapΔ by the expressionT c⋍0.7Δ. Arguments are advanced in support of the fact that the formation of the EI phase involves the pairing of electrons at theL point with holes at theT point.
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Brandt, N.B., Chudinov, S.M. Investigation of the excitonic insulator phase in bismuth-antimony alloys. J Low Temp Phys 8, 339–365 (1972). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00655088
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00655088