Magnetotransport in the double-atomic-layer rect- 7 x 3-In phase on Si(111)

Magnetoresistance of the double-atomic-layer rect- 7 x 3-In/Si(111) phase was measured in situ using the four-point-probe technique in the temperature range from 2.5 to 33 K and magnetic fields from 8 to 8 T. The rect- 7 x 3-In/Si(111) was found to demonstrate a classical quadratic behavior of magnetoresistance at fields lower than 0.2 T, and a large positive linear magnetoresistance at fields up to 8 T in the low-temperature range of up to 10 K. In contrast, the results obtained on the parent single-and double-atomic In layers formed on the NiSi2/Si(111) substrate show much lower values of magnetoresistance. In view of the density functional theory calculation results, which reveal the presence of tiny Fermi pockets in the rect- 7 x 3-In/Si(111) electronic band structure, we attribute the observed large linear magnetoresistance at the low-temperature range to a quantum mechanical origin.