Abstract
A theoretical study is made on the height of potential energy barriers formed at intergranular contacts in porous tin dioxide. Expressions are derived for the height of barriers in a one-dimensional case when the donor concentration is constant and also when there is a concentration gradient in the surface. Expressions are also derived for the case when the intergranular contact is in the shape of a cylinder. The treatment in this case, together with the application of Fermi–Dirac statistics, leads to a conclusion of the existence of a distribution of the height of barriers. The potential barrier on the center line of the cylinder vanishes above a critical radius. The effect of the distribution of the height of barriers on the activation energy of the conductance of porous tin dioxide is discussed on the basis of a random barrier network model.
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