Origin of Saturation Effects in Electron Transport

Abstract

The diffraction model is generalized to incorporate a postulate on the electron-phonon interaction; viz., phonons with wavelength exceeding the electron mean free path are ineffective electron scatterers. This postulate leads to a limiting resistivity when the electron mean free path is of the order of the interatomic spacing. The generalized diffraction model is also shown to explain many anomalous features common to high-resistivity metals. Crystalline Nb, $A15'\mathrm{s}$, and glassy metals are discussed.