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Scattering center
u Vibrating atom
Electron
An electron moving with mean speed u is scattered when its path crosses the cross-sectional
area S of a scattering center. In time it is subjected to scattering. The distance traversed by
the electron during mean free time is called the mean free path l. l=u
If Ns is the concentration of scattering centers (for Cu conductor, number of Cu+ ion cores
per unit volume) then in volume Sl there is one scattering center.
= atomic concentration and thus
1 temperature independent
Sl . Ns = 1 S u Ns = 1 =
S u Ns
very weakly temperature dependent
Therefore, temperature dependence of arises from the cross-sectional area S = a2 of the
scattering centers, where a is the amplitude of vibrations.
We note that the probability of scattering (or the frequency of the collisions) increases (or in
other words, time between collisions, i.e., decreases) with increase in cross-sectional area,
i.e., 1/ a2. We now need a relation between a and T.
Motion of thermal vibrations of atoms in lattice can be modeled as a simple harmonic motion
exhibited by a ball attached to a spring. The average kinetic energy of the oscillations is ¼
(Ma2 2), where M is the mass of the atom, and is the oscillation frequency. From kinetic
theory of matter , average KE must be on the order of ½ (kT). That is, ¼ (Ma2 2) ½ (kT)
or, a2 T 1/T = C/T, where C is a temperature independent constant
me meT
= = or, = AT , where A is a temperature independent constant.
2
e n e2 n C
For pure metals where scattering is only due to lattice vibrations, the resistivity is
proportional to (absolute) temperature.
= AT works only with pure metals. For metallic alloys, where impurities are present, the
relation does not hold and the resistivity is found only weakly temperature dependent.
Let us look into the scattering mechanism in an alloy.
Impurity atoms are randomly distributed in an alloy crystal. An electron thus in this case can
be scattered by the impurity atoms as they create local distortions in lattice crystal around
them, which result in a change in potential energy. <recall that the disordered atoms in crystal
have higher PE than the ordered ones> As electrons approach the local distorted regions they
experience a force F = – d(PE)/dx . These regions have larger cross-sectional areas as they
may extend to a number of atomic distances.
Thus, we have two types of electron scattering in an alloy – scattering from thermal
vibrations and scattering from impurities.
Strained region by
impurity exerts a
scattering force
I F = - d(PE)/dx
There are now two mean scattering times T from thermal vibrations and I from impurities.
Generally, an electron can be scattered by both the processes, and therefore, the effective
mean free time between any two scattering events will be less than that due to either
mechanism alone. If these mechanisms are independent, from elementary probability theory
1 1 1 e e e e
the reduced is given by, [ ]
T I d me T me I me me
1 1 1
Thus, the reduced drift mobility d is given by,
d T I
1 1 1
The overall effective resistivity is then,
en d en T en I
Temperature dependent
or, = T + I Matthiessen’s Rule
Temperature independent
1
where, T is the resistivity due to scattering from the thermal vibrations and
en T
1
I is the resistivity due to scattering from the impurities.
en I
[1
0 (T T 0)]
0
This equation is valid when 0 is constant over the temperature range of interest, and at
temperatures above DeBye temperature that is the case and the resistivity follows the
equation.
At temperatures below the DeBye temperature, the resistivity decreases rapidly with
decreasing temperature. Why?
The number of atoms that are vibrating with sufficient energy to scatter the conduction
electrons starts to decrease rapidly with decreasing temperature, so the resistivity due to
scattering from thermal vibrations become more strongly temperature dependent. The mean
free time = 1/SuNs becomes longer and strongly temperature dependent, leading to a smaller
resistivity than the linear behavior.
The electrical resistivity at low temperatures resulting from scattering of electrons by lattice
vibrations becomes negligible; the total resistivity is essentially determined by the scattering
of electrons by imperfections and impurities.
At sufficiently low temperatures (typically below 20 K for many metals and below 135 K for
certain ceramics) certain materials exhibit superconductivity in which the resistivity vanishes
( = 0), even in the presence of impurities and crystal defects.