Quantum theory of the effect of grain boundaries on the electrical conductivity of thin films and wires》.pdf

Physica B 470-471 (2015) 39–49 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Physica B journal homepage: /locate/physb Quantum theory of the effect of grain boundaries on the electrical conductivity of thin films and wires Luis Moraga a,b,n, Ricardo Henriquez c, Basilio Solis a a Departamento de Ciencias Básicas, Facultad de Ingeniería, Universidad Central de Chile, Santa Isabel 1186, Santiago 8330601, Chile b Departamento de Física, Facultad de Ciencias Físicas y Matemáticas, Universidad de Chile, Blanco Encalada 2008, Casilla 487-3, Santiago 8370449, Chile c Departamento de Física, Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María, Avenida España 1680, Valparaíso, Chile a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t Article history: We calculate the electrical conductivity of a metallic sample under the effects of distributed impurities Received 12 March 2014 and a random distribution of grain boundaries by means of a quantum mechanical procedure based on Received in revised form Kubo formula. Grain boundaries are represented either by a one-dimensional regular array of Dirac delta 19 April 2015 potentials (Mayadas and Shatzkes model) or by its three-dimensional extension (Szczyrbowski and Accepted 24 April 2015 Schmalzbauer model). We give formulas expressing the conductivity of bulk samples, thin films and thin Available online 27 April 2015 wires of rectangular cross-sections in the case