Instability of charge ordered states probed in mesoscopic θ -(BEDT-TTF) ₂RbZn(SCN) ₄ crystals

We developed a technique to grow organic crystals in nanoliter cells compatible with subsequent electrical transport measurements. The crystals grown in this technique have thickness less than 1 μm due to the confined growth condition. Here, a q2D organic conductor that shows a metal-insulator transition in low temperature is grown. Resistivity (ρ{variant}) measurements as a function of temperature (T) showed no discontinuity in dρ{variant} /dT in contrast to the reported behavior in bulk crystals. Instead, ρ{variant} displays a broad increase in the vicinity of 150 K. The nonlinear behavior of IV curves observed obeys a power law for most of the T range. A high bias voltage did not change the broad increase of resistivity between 140 and 160 K. The color plot demonstrates that the CO state is stable against biasing by an electric field.