9 - Localization Phenomena in Electronic Systems

Abstract

The effect of inelastic scattering is generally expressed through a length scale, the inelastic scattering length lin. The value of lin is usually very different for the quantum case and the classical wave case. For classical waves, lin may be macroscopic in size and is generally insensitive to temperature. In a metallic film, the normal magnetoresistance is positive because when a magnetic field is applied perpendicular to the film, the electrons tend to move normal to the electric field direction. As the current is deflected away from the electric field direction, the measured resistance is increased. The presence of a magnetic field also tends to lessen the coherent backscattering effect by destroying the time-reversal symmetry. As the localization effect increases the resistance, the renormalized resistance of a disordered film must be higher than that without the coherent backscattering correction.