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Numerical Simulation of Hopping Conductivity in Granular Metals

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 February 2011

L. F. Chen
Affiliation:
Exxon Research & Engineering Co., Route 22 East, Annandale, NJ 08801
Ping Sheng
Affiliation:
Exxon Research & Engineering Co., Route 22 East, Annandale, NJ 08801
B. Abeles
Affiliation:
Exxon Research & Engineering Co., Route 22 East, Annandale, NJ 08801
M. Y. Zhou
Affiliation:
Exxon Research & Engineering Co., Route 22 East, Annandale, NJ 08801
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Abstract

Electrical conduction in granular metals is simulated by mapping the hopping conductance between pairs of metal grains onto a simple cubic lattice with bonds between neighbors. By considering a log-normal distribution of grain sizes and the effect of disorder potential, the numerically calculated network conductance exhibit clear deviation from simple activation. Plotting -log a vs. T-½, where σ denotes conductivity and T the temperature, gives good straight line behavior with slopes comparable to those measured experimentally. Our results are noted to differ from those of Adkins et al.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 1990

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References

REFERENCES

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