Destruction of localized electron pairs above the magnetic-field-driven superconductor-insulator transition in amorphous In-O films

The field-induced superconductivity-destroying quantum transition in amorphous indium oxide films are investigated at low temperatures down to 30 mK. It is found that, on the high-field side of the transition, the magnetoresistance reaches a maximum and the phase can be insulating as well as metallic. With further increase of the magnetic field the resistance of the film drops and in the high-field limit approaches the resistance value at the transition point, so that at high fields the metallic phase occurs for both cases. We give a qualitative account of this behavior in terms of field-induced destruction of localized electron pairs. Pis’ma Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 68, No. 4, 337–342 (25 August 1998)