Interplay of disorder, interlayer coupling, and hopping transport in sliding ferroelectric misfit
Phys. Rev. B 114, 045431 – Published 27 July, 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/hy97-4bbp
Abstract
The misfit layered compound shows a complex interplay of structural modulation, disorder, and charge dynamics that leads to unconventional magnetic and transport properties. High resolution scanning transmission microscopy and temperature-dependent single crystal x-ray diffraction reveal short-range layer clustering, fractional layer sliding, diffuse scattering, and an appearance of new reflections below , consistent with a continuous structural transition involving -axis doubling and strengthened interlayer coupling. Below , the resistivity increases by orders of magnitude and evolves into variable-range hopping; the data are most consistent with Efros-Shklovskii behavior driven by disorder-induced localization. The magnetoresistance is large, weakly anisotropic, and quadratic at low temperature, but at intermediate temperatures shows a complex shape, reflecting competing scattering and localization processes. Overall, the electronic state of emerges from the combined action of structural modulation, disorder, and correlations with no single dominant mechanism governing its temperature-dependent electronic and magnetic behavior.