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Abstract:
We report measurements of the in-plane and out-of-plane
magnetoresistance (MR) of single crystals of the layered perovskite
superconductor Sr2RuO4 (T-c approximate to 1 K) The transverse c-axis MR
Delta rho(c)/rho(c)(B) (I parallel to c,B parallel to ab) varies
linearly with field at low temperatures consistent with the behavior
expected for a quasi-two-dimensional Fermi surface in the
intermediate-field regime. Delta rho(c)/rho(c)(T) shows a striking
temperature dependence which arises from the competing effects of two
separate MR contributions. At low temperatures, ap,lp, is large and
positive due to the orbital magnetoresistance of the carriers. At high
temperatures, however, Delta rho(c)/rho(c) is dominated by a negative MR
term that is associated with the nonmetallic out-of-plane resistivity
p(c)(T). We argue that the two contributions to Delta rho(c)/rho(c)(B,T)
originate from separate conduction channels along the c axis and that
the competition between the metallic and nonmetallic channels is
responsible for the unusual temperature dependence of rho(c)(T).
Finally, we discuss the relevance of these findings to our current
understanding of the unusual magnetoresistance of the high-T-c cuprates.
