Field effect in the linear and nonlinear conductivity of the layered quasi-one-dimensional semiconductor TiS$_3$

Field-effect transistor structures based on whiskers of layered quasi-one-dimensional semiconductor TiS$_3$ have been fabricated. The dependences of the conductivity $\sigma$ on the gate voltage $V_{\text{g}}$, as well as the current-voltage characteristics of whiskers (“source-drain”) at different $V_{\text{g}}$ 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, $\alpha\equiv 1/\sigma\,\text{d}\sigma/\text{d}V_{\text{g}}$, increases in the range from $300$ to $80$ K and decreases sharply below $80$ K, where the nonlinear conductivity begins to depend on $V_{\text{g}}$. The results can be explained by the formation of an electronic crystal at low temperatures.