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Thermally activated conductivity and current-voltage characteristic of dielectric phase in granular metals

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Abstract

Models of thermally activated linear and high-field nonlinear conductivity of a dielectric phase in granular metals (nanocomposites), i.e., aggregates of small metallic grains in a dielectric matrix, have been suggested. Given a sufficiently large spread of grain sizes, the temperature dependence of the nanocomposite conductivity should be described by a universal “power-1/2” law: G∝exp[−(T 0/T)1/2]. An analytical expression for T 0 has been obtained. It is found that there are two regimes of nonlinear conductivity in a high electric field, namely, a low-field regime, when both the number and mobility of carriers change with the field strength, and a high-field regime, when only the mobility of carriers is variable. Analytical expressions for the nonlinear conductance in both regimes have been obtained.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Russian Research Center “Kurchatov Institute,” Institute of Molecular Physics, 123182, Moscow, Russia

    E. Z. Meilikhov

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  1. E. Z. Meilikhov
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Zh. Éksp. Teor. Fiz. 115, 1484–1496 (April 1999)

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Meilikhov, E.Z. Thermally activated conductivity and current-voltage characteristic of dielectric phase in granular metals. J. Exp. Theor. Phys. 88, 819–825 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1134/1.558861

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/1.558861

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