Boron-doped $\mathrm{Si}\mathrm{\text{−}}{\mathrm{SiO}}_2\mathrm{\text{−}}\mathrm{Al}$ structures are fabricated to study extremely large magnetoresistance (MR) effects. Current-voltage characteristics show a nonlinear behavior, dominated by an autocatalytic process of impact ionization. At low temperatures, the magnetic field postpones the onset of impact ionization to higher electric fields. This results in a symmetric positive MR of over 10 000% at $400\mathrm{kA}/\mathrm{m}$. Applying a magnetic field leads to an increase of the acceptor level compared to the valence band as deduced by admittance spectroscopy. A macroscopic transport model is introduced to describe how the MR is controlled by voltage, electrode spacing, and oxide thickness.

• Received 21 August 2007

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.100.127202