Field Effect in the Linear and Nonlinear Conductivity of the Layered Quasi-One-Dimensional Semiconductor TiS3

Field-effect transistor structures based on whiskers of layered quasi-one-dimensional semiconductor TiS3 have been fabricated. The dependences of the conductivity sigma on the gate voltage V-g, as well as the current-voltage characteristics of whiskers (source-drain) at different V-g values, have been measured in the temperature range of 4.2-300 K. As the temperature decreases, the sensitivity of the conductivity to the gate voltage, alpha equivalent to 1/sigma d sigma/dV(g), increases in the range from 300 to 80 K and decreases sharply below 80 K, where the nonlinear conductivity begins to depend on V-g. The results can be explained by the formation of an electronic crystal at low temperatures.