Metal-insulator transitions electronic conductivity

For disordered systems, then, a quite different form of metal-insulator transition occurs—the Anderson transition. In these systems a range of energies exists in which the electron states are localized, and if at zero temperature the Fermi energy lies in this range then the material will not conduct, even though the density of states is not zero. The Anderson transition can be discussed in terms of non-interacting electrons, though in real systems electron-electron interaction plays an important part. 

Very direct evidence for the existence of bound spin polarons is provided by the work of Torrance et al (1972) on the metal-insulator transition in Eu-rich EuO At low temperatures, when the moments on the Eu ions are ferromagnetically aligned, the electrons in the oxygen vacancies cannot form spin polarons and are present in sufficient concentration to give metallic conduction. Above the Curie temperature the conductivity drops by a factor of order 10 , because the electrons now polarize the surrounding moments, forming spin polarons with higher effective mass. 

Ramirez et al (1970) discussed a metal-insulator transition as the temperature rises, which is first order with no crystal distortion. The essence of the model is—in our terminology—that a lower Hubbard band (or localized states) lies just below a conduction band. Then, as electrons are excited into the conduction band, their coupling with the moments lowers the Neel temperature. Thus the disordering of the spins with consequent increase of entropy is accelerated. Ramirez et al showed that a first-order transition to a degenerate gas in the conduction band, together with disordering of the moments, is possible. The entropy comes from the random direction of the moments, and the random positions of such atoms as have lost an electron. The results of Menth et al (1969) on the conductivity of SmB6 are discussed in these terms. 

Impurity conduction can also be studied in compensated semiconductors, i.e. materials containing acceptors as well as donors, the majority carriers (or the other way round). For such materials, even at low concentrations, activated hopping conduction can occur (Chapter 1, Section 15), some of the donors being unoccupied so that an electron can move from an occupied to an empty centre. Here too a metal-insulator transition can be observed, which is certainly of Anderson type, the insulating state being essentially a result of disorder. 

The most important change to be noted is the appearance of a new gap in the tlu conduction band. The lower and upper subbands can accommodate four and two electrons per C60> respectively. As will be discussed in the next section, there are various fullerides with electrons doped into their conduction bands. The appearance of the new gap in the conduction band indicates therefore that there is a possibility for orientational ordering to induce a metal-insulator transition in electron-doped C60 fullerides. 

Figure 21 shows temperature dependence of electrical conductivity and magnetic susceptibility of MEM(Af-methyl-iV-ethyl-morpholinium)-(TCNQ)2 [70]. At about 335 K it undergoes a metal-insulator transition accompanied by the onset of a two-fold superstructure and a temperature dependent magnetic susceptibility characteristic of localized moments. It is considered as depicted in Fig. 22(a) that a dimerized TCNQ accepts an electron localized by, for example, the Mott transition or the Wigner crystallization. The solid curve shown in Fig. 21(b) denotes the theoretical prediction for the magnetic susceptibility of a one-... 

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