Electron transport in disordered insulating lattice under nonlinear electric field

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Hauptverfasser: Mozumdar, Kunal, Fotso, Herbert F., Han, Jong E.
Format: Preprint
Veröffentlicht: 2025
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author Mozumdar, Kunal
Fotso, Herbert F.
Han, Jong E.
author_facet Mozumdar, Kunal
Fotso, Herbert F.
Han, Jong E.
contents Transport in disordered systems often occurs via the variable range hopping (VRH) in the dilute carrier density limit, where electrons hop between randomly distributed localized levels. We study the nonequilibrium transport by a uniform DC electric field on a one-dimensional insulating tight-binding chain with the on-site disorder, using a disordered-lattice calculation and the coherent potential approximation. We develop a theory of electric-field-assisted variable range hopping as a mechanism for nonlinear transport in a disordered chain. Our disordered-lattice calculations of the electron propagation distance and the electron mobility determine the range of the variable range hopping as $Δ< W \lesssim 2Δ$ in the gap $Δ$. We further propose a nonlinear scaling of the conductivity by an electric field by extending Mott's variable range hopping. The nonlinear conductivity of an electronic lattice model follows the scaling law $σ(E) \propto \exp[-(E_0/E)^ν]$ with the exponent $ν= 1/3$ in one dimension for the VRH. We also discuss the experimental relevance of temperature-dependent nonlinear current-voltage relation.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2503_17628
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Electron transport in disordered insulating lattice under nonlinear electric field
Mozumdar, Kunal
Fotso, Herbert F.
Han, Jong E.
Disordered Systems and Neural Networks
Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics
Transport in disordered systems often occurs via the variable range hopping (VRH) in the dilute carrier density limit, where electrons hop between randomly distributed localized levels. We study the nonequilibrium transport by a uniform DC electric field on a one-dimensional insulating tight-binding chain with the on-site disorder, using a disordered-lattice calculation and the coherent potential approximation. We develop a theory of electric-field-assisted variable range hopping as a mechanism for nonlinear transport in a disordered chain. Our disordered-lattice calculations of the electron propagation distance and the electron mobility determine the range of the variable range hopping as $Δ< W \lesssim 2Δ$ in the gap $Δ$. We further propose a nonlinear scaling of the conductivity by an electric field by extending Mott's variable range hopping. The nonlinear conductivity of an electronic lattice model follows the scaling law $σ(E) \propto \exp[-(E_0/E)^ν]$ with the exponent $ν= 1/3$ in one dimension for the VRH. We also discuss the experimental relevance of temperature-dependent nonlinear current-voltage relation.
title Electron transport in disordered insulating lattice under nonlinear electric field
topic Disordered Systems and Neural Networks
Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2503.17628