Failure of Arrhenius plots for investigation of localized levels

R. Ongaro , A. Pillonnet

Investigation of Poole Frenkel ionization, when the localized levels are distributed within bands, is realized with temperature T as the variable. A large amount of simulations revealed the same qualitative behaviour of Arrhenius diagrams of conductivity (lg σ, 1/T), as that given by a single level. Many examples are treated, in order to make clear that extended linear parts can be obtained, as wide as the distribution can be. Consequently, the activation energies deduced from these diagrams can no more be assigned to any actual localized level. We believe to have shown that setting down as a principle that levels, in a multi-level system, can always be splitted into their components, is in contradiction with Fermi-Dirac statistics.

Mots clés: electrical conductivity of solids; localised electron states; Poole Frenkel effect; Arrhenius plots; localized levels; Poole Frenkel ionization; conductivity; activation energies; multi level system; Fermi Dirac statistics

Domaines: Articles anciens

R. Ongaro, A. Pillonnet. Failure of Arrhenius plots for investigation of localized levels. Revue de Physique Appliquée, 1990, 25 (2), pp.209-227. ⟨10.1051/rphysap:01990002502020900⟩. ⟨jpa-00246180⟩