Dielectric breakdown of one-dimensional Mott insulators Sr2CuO3 and SrCuO2

Dielectric breakdown phenomena accompanied by characteristic time delay and subsequent negative differential resistance effect have been observed for typical one-dimensional (1D) Mott insulators, Sr2CuO3 and SrCuO2. In the both compounds, the threshold electric-field for the breakdown, defined as a field above which the differential resistance becomes negative, has been found to increase exponentially with decreasing temperature. This result is similar to the case of charge-density-wave depinning, and indicates the collective nature of charge dynamics in these 1D systems. The electric-field dependence of the delay time is analyzed in terms of a phenomenological model.