DC Conductivity and Peierls instability in the quasi-one-dimensional organic charge density wave conductor (fluoranthene)₂X

Due to the high anisotropy of the dc conductivity (σ_|/σ_⊥ ≈ 10⁴) the organic conductor (fluoranthene)₂X can be regarded as a model system for studying the Peierls instability in quasi-one-dimensional systems. The temperature dependence of the dc conductivity σ_| (T) along the highly conducting crystal axis exhibits the typical behaviour of a quasi-one-dimensional metal with a Peierls transition at about 180 K to a charge density wave (CDW) ground state. As expected for a highly one-dimensional conductor the exact transition temperature depends on three-dimensional coupling effects and therefore on the size of the counterion X⁻ = PF, AsF, SbF. Above the Peierls transition σ_| (T) can be described quantitatively within a model of CDW fluctuations leading to a pseudo gap in the electronic density of states. Below, the existence of a real energy gap at the Fermi level with a BCS-like temperature dependence determines the charge transport over more than eight orders of magnitude in the electrical resistance. For the intrinsic energy gaps 2 Δ (0), which characterize the ground state of the Peierls semiconductor, values of 120-180 meV have been found for different crystals.