title: Anderson localization of electrons in single crystals: Li (x) Fe(7)Se(8).
abstract: Anderson (disorder-induced) localization, proposed more than half a century ago, has inspired numerous efforts to explore the absence of wave diffusions in disordered media. However, the proposed disorder-induced metal-insulator transition (MIT), associated with the nonpropagative electron waves, has hardly been observed in three-dimensional (3D) crystalline materials, let alone single crystals. We report the observation of an MIT in centimeter-size single crystals of Li x Fe7Se8 induced by lattice disorder. Both specific heat and infrared reflectance measurements reveal the presence of considerable electronic states in the vicinity of the Fermi level when the MIT occurs, suggesting that the transition is not due to Coulomb repulsion mechanism. The 3D variable range hopping regime evidenced by electrical transport measurements at low temperatures indicates the localized nature of the electronic states on the Fermi level. Quantitative analyses of carrier concentration, carrier mobility, and simulated density of states (DOS) fully support that Li x Fe7Se8 is an Anderson insulator. On the basis of these results, we provide a unified DOS picture to explain all the experimental results, and a schematic diagram for finding other potential Anderson insulators. This material will thus serve as a rich playground for both theoretical and experimental investigations on MITs and disorder-induced phenomena.
authors.affiliation: Beijing National Laboratory for Condensed Matter Physics, Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China.; Research & Development Center for Functional Crystals, Beijing National Laboratory for Condensed Matter Physics, and Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China.
authors.forename: Tianping
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-7665-1270
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ying
authors.affiliation: Beijing National Laboratory for Condensed Matter Physics, Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China.
authors.forename: Yueqiang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Gu
authors.affiliation: Beijing National Laboratory for Condensed Matter Physics, Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China.
authors.forename: Xiao
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Beijing National Laboratory for Condensed Matter Physics, Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China.
authors.forename: Xinbo
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Beijing National Laboratory for Condensed Matter Physics, Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China.
authors.forename: Shifeng
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Jin
authors.affiliation: Beijing National Laboratory for Condensed Matter Physics, Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China.
authors.forename: Linlin
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Center for Advancing Materials Performance from the Nanoscale, State Key Laboratory for Mechanical Behavior of Materials, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710049, China.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Beijing National Laboratory for Condensed Matter Physics, Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China.; Research & Development Center for Functional Crystals, Beijing National Laboratory for Condensed Matter Physics, and Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China.; Collaborative Innovation Center of Quantum Matter, Beijing 100190, China.
authors.forename: Xiaolong
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-7887-5286
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Chen
keywords: anderson localization; disorder; electron localization.; metal-insulator transition; single crystal; variable range hopping