Stress Tuning of the Metal-Insulator Transition at Millikelvin Temperatures

Abstract

A high-resolution scan of the metal-insulator transition in Si:P at millikelvin temperatures has been obtained by applying uniaxial stress. A sharp, but continuous, metal-insulator transition is resolved, with conductivities below Mott's "minimum" value σ_M. These measurements join smoothly with previous low-resolution experiments, ruling out any discontinuity at σ_M. The reproducible critical behavior disagrees with predictions of existing scaling theories of localization.

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