Magnetoresistivity of bismuth films in magnetic fields to 19 Tesla

The longitudinal and transverse magnetoresistance to fields of 19 Tesla and 4.2 K has been measured for bismuth films ranging in thickness from 0.01 to 2 m. We have observed a pronounced maximum in the longitudinal magnetoresistance which is thickness dependent. We compare these results with classical size effect theories for the longitudinal magnetoresistance in terms of magnetic-field-dependent electron scattering at grain and film boundaries. Measurements of the longitudinal magnetoresistance to 38 Tesla show a quenching of the classical size effect in the high field limit. This result strongly supports our analysis.Work supported by NSF grant #DMR 8113456Supported by the National Science Foundation