Solid State lonics 38 (1990) 241-249

North-Holland

SOME PECULIARITIES OF CURRENT FLOW IN MATERIALS

WITH TWO SORTS OF CARRIERS OF THE SAME SIGN

Yu.Ya. G U R E V I C H and Yu.I. K H A R K A T S

A.N. Frumkin Institute of Electrochemistry, Academy of Sciences of the USSR, Leninsky pr. 31, 117071 Moscow V-7I, USSR

Received 20 December 1989; accepted for publication 3 January 1990

The current-voltage characteristics are studied for unipolar conductors with mixed conduction which have boundaries (inter-
faces ) permeable to carriers of one sort and one (or both ) boundary impermeable to carriers of the other sort. In case when only
one interface is permeable to carries of the second sort (an open system ), the current-voltage characteristic reaches the regime of
limiting current for rather high voltages applied. In case of both interfaces impermeable to carriers of the second sort (a closed
system), for high voltages there appears a quasi-ohmic region of current growth after the regime of quasi-limiting current. In
closed systems, the stated effect is due to the fact that for high voltages applied to the sample carriers are drawn into the space
charge region near the interface.

1. Introduction holes) a n d the neutralizing background o f fixed neg-

ative charges.
The study o f systems containing solid state ma-
terials, which possess ionic a n d i o n i c - e l e c t r o n i c
( m i x e d ) conduction, is a m a t t e r o f interest for the
2. Discussion
d e v e l o p m e n t o f solid state ionics, m e m b r a n e physics
a n d chemistry, electrochemistry o f ion-conducting
We shall assume that the properties o f the phase
films [ 1-6 ]. It should be n o t e d that in spite o f a con-
b o u n d a r i e s (interfaces) o f a t w o - c o m p o n e n t con-
siderable n u m b e r o f theoretical works in this field,
d u c t o r with thickness L are such that one o f the in-
certain nontrivial features which should be peculiar
terfaces X = L is permeable to electron holes and im-
to the c u r r e n t - v o l t a g e characteristics o f the men-
p e r m e a b l e to cations. The other interface X = 0 is,
tioned systems have not been studied. The present
like the first, permeable to holes, but as for cations,
p a p e r is d e v o t e d to the analysis o f features o f this
it m a y be either permeable to t h e m (in this case the
kind. They must be observed in systems character-
c o n d u c t o r is a system open to cations) or i m p e r m e -
ized by the presence o f
( i ) two (or m o r e ) sorts o f mobile charge carriers able (a system closed to cations).
The corresponding starting set o f phenomenolog-
o f the same sign, e.g. cations a n d electron holes, an-
ical equations reduced to the dimensionless form
ions a n d electrons, two different cations, etc.;
looks like
(ii) fixed charges (with the sign opposite to that
o f mobile charges) which form the neutralizing dCl d~'
background; dx +C,-~=-I, (1)
(iii) a sufficiently high blocking barrier for one sort
o f carriers at one o f the boundaries. dCz d~
Let us consider a steady current flow in a two-
dx + c ~ =o, (2)
c o m p o n e n t u n i p o l a r conductor, that is, in a material d2~
containing two sorts o f carriers o f the same sign (for X~--ff = l - C , - C z . (3}
definiteness, single-charged cations a n d electron

0167-2738/90/$ 03.50 © Elsevier Science Publishers B.V.

( North-Holland )
242 Yu. Ya. Gurevich, Yu.L Kharkats / Current flow in materials with two sorts o f carriers

Here C~,2 are the concentrations of holes and cat-

ions divided by the concentration N = const, of fixed
negative charges: ~, is the electric potential divided
by k T / e ( e > 0 is the absolute value of the electron
charge, k is Boltzmann's constant, T is the absolute
temperature); I - i / i N where i is the density of direct
\ co
current of electron holes (equal to the total current
through the system), and iN--eD~N/L (Dl being the
coefficient of hole diffusion); 2 = EkT/
(4ne2NL 2) = ( L o / L ) 2, where e is the dielectric con-
stant of the material, and LD is the Debye length;
0 x ° x~1
x = X / L is a dimensionless coordinate ( 0 4 x 4 1 ).
The set of equations ( 1 ) - ( 3 ) have to be supple-
mented by boundary conditions. At x = 1 the bound- Fig. 1. Schematic representation of the distribution of the car-
riers concentrations C1 (x), C2(x) for moderate currents; x ° and
ary conditions may be given by the relation
x ~are the coordinates of the electroneutrality region boundaries.
I=kl[Cl(1)-C~(1)]. (4)
Here C~ ( 1 ) is the equilibrium value (i.e. for I = 0 ) dq/
(C,+C2)~=-I or E=I, (7)
of the concentration C1 at the interface x = 1 and k~
is a dimensionless kinetic constant which in general
where E = - Oq//Ox is the dimensionless electric field
depends on the electric field intensity at the inter-
(in k T / e L units).
face. At the interface x = 0 we assume as given the
Note that the relation (7) may be interpreted as
concentration C~ ( 0 ) = C ] of electron holes; physi-
the fulfillment of Ohm's law in action in the bulk of
cally, this equality holds when the exchange current
the conductor, the effective conductivity here being
of electron holes at this interface is much greater then
determined by the mobility of carriers of only the
the current through the system. The value C 2 ( 0 ) =
first sort but with the concentration equal to the sum
C~ may either be considered as given (for an open
of the concentrations of carriers of both sorts. In other
system) or (for a closed system) be determined from
words, the situation seems to be such as if cations
the following normalization condition
take part in the current transport, their mobility being
1 the same as that of electron holes. However, as shown
fC2(x)dx=C2,
o
(5) below, the picture is not so simple and it depends
critically on the form of the boundary conditions.
Eqs. (1), (2) and (6) give
where C2 is the average concentration of mobile cat-
ions of the second sort, which is determined by their C 2 = C Oe x p { I ( x - x ° ) } , C, = 1 - C 2 , (8)
total number in the sample.
~/=~°-I(x-x°) , (9)
In the case when the inequality 2 << 1 is satisfied,
rather narrow regions of space charge (with the size where C o and ~u° are the values of C2 and q/at x = x °
of by the order) are formed near the interfaces x = 0 i.e. at the boundary of space charge region near x = 0
and x = 1 (see fig. 1 ). Between these regions lies the and of the electroneutrality region.
so-called electroneutrality region x O ~ x ~ x 1, In this In view of the fact that in the region 0 < x < x ° the
region, instead of the Poisson equation (3) we can current I may be neglected [ 7 ] in eq. ( 1 ), the con-
use the electroneutrality condition centrations C°2 become related to the concentra-
tions C].2 by simple Boltzmann equations:
Cl +(72 = 1 . (6)
C°.2 = C],2 exp ( - ~t° ) , ( 10 )
Summing up eqs. ( 1 ) and (2) and taking into ac-
count the equality d C l / d x = -dC2/clx which follows where it is assumed that qJ(0)=0.
from eq. (6), we come to the relation As follows from eqs. (6) and (10),
 Yu. Ya. Gurevich, Yu.L Kharkats / Currentflow in materials with two sorts of carriers
exp(~ °)=C] +C~. (11)
Note that in generalC] + C~ ~ 1. Besides, in closed
systems C~ is, in accordance with (5), a function of
the current I and of the average concentration C2.
Likewise, the distribution of the concentrations C1.2
of carriers in the region 1 - x I ~<x~< 1 is given by the
relationship
C1,2 = C I , 2 exp{~ 1- g / } , (12)
where C].2 and ~t 1 are the values of C1,2 and ~u at
x = x 1. Making use of ( 8 ) - ( 12 ) and taking account
of the inequality x°<< 1 and 1 - x 1<< 1 we find the
relation between the surface concentration C1 ( 1 ) and
the potential V= ~( 1 ) - g/(0):
C1 ( 1 ) = ( 1 - C ° e t ) e x p - ( V - ~t°+ I)
= [ (C] + C [ ) e - * - C [ ] e - v (13)
After the substitution of ( 13 ) into (4) and the in-
troduction of the equilibrium potential ( I = 0 when
V= V e) we have
I=k{[(l+C~/C])e-*-C~/C]le"V-1}. (14)
Here k = k l C] exp( - Ve), and AV= V e - V.
The obtained relation (14) is independent of the
boundary conditions at x = 0 and is therefore equally
applicable for both open and closed systems.
First, let us examine the behavior of an open sys-
tem. In this case, the quantity C~ is an external pa-
rameter and does not depend on L Under these con-
ditions, eq. (14) is the desired current-voltage
characteristic of the system (see fig. 2). For small
deviations of V from V e the relation between I and
AVis given, according to (14), by the following lin-
ear equation:
, + j=av. (15)
The expression in brackets in eq. (15) is the ef-
fective resistance R = Rs + Rb and is combined of two
series resistances: Rs = 1/k the resistance of the right-
hand interface x = 1 and Rb the sample bulk resis-
tance (the resistance of the left-hand interface is equal
to zero owing to the accepted condition C ~ ( 0 ) =
C] = const). Notice that the bulk conduction which,
according to ( 15 ) and (10), is proportional to the
factor C ] / ( C I + C D = C ° / ( C ° + C ° ) = C ° is deter-
243
I
0,3
0.2
0,1
0 5 10 aV
Fig. 2. The current-voltage characteristic of an open system,
CO=0.7; k:. 1-10; 2-10-1; 3-10-2; 4-10 -3.
mined only by the concentration of carriers of the
first sort which can cross the interface (and not by
the total concentration C O+ C O as it might be ex-
pected from formula ( 7 ) ) . The obtained result dem-
onstrates the leading role of interface properties
which have dominant influence on the current-volt-
age characteristic.
The current I increases with AV and reaches its
limiting value/1 which is determined, according to
(14), from the relation
11= In C] + C~ 1 1
C----~2 = I n C~ = I n C1 - - ~ " (16)
The physical reason for this limiting current is the
following. According to (7), the potential in the re-
gion x°<~x<~x I linearly falls offwith the coordinate,
which corresponds to the increase of the concentra-
tion C2(x) (see fig. 1). By virtue of condition (6),
C2 rises with the decrease of C1. To the origination
of limiting current corresponds the drop of the con-
centration C1 to zero in the vicinity of point x = x 1.
Note that usually the diffusion-migration current
is proportional to the bulk concentration of discharg-
ing carriers far from the discharge plane (in our case
this concentration is C O). This kind of dependence
follows from (16) in the limiting case C O<< 1. Lim-
iting current in dimensional units is then equal to
eD~ N C ° / L where N C ° is the dimensional equilib-
rium concentration of particles of the first sort. This
equality naturally coincides with the well-known
expression for limiting diffusion current of single-
244 Yu. Ya. Gurevich, Yu.L Kharkats / Current flow in materials with two sorts o f carriers

charged particles of the first sort with dominant con- Estimates show that J1 << J2 because the parameter
centration of charged particles of other sorts that do 2 is small. As for the relation between J2 and J3 it will
not take part in the charge transfer [ 7 ]. be shown further that it may change depending on
When C O increases the limiting current I1 sharply the value of AV. In accordance with eqs. (17) and
rises as a function of C Oand the behavior of the sam- (11),
ple becomes resembling that of a conductor with uni-
C~(e/-l)
polar conduction by carriers of one sort C O~ 0 ) for J2- (C] +C~2)I" (18)
which the value of conducted current is unlimited
(I1--~OO). To calculate J3 we have to examine the coordinate
The matter discussed is illustrated by fig. 3. The distribution of the potential V(x) in the region
general shape of the current-voltage characteristic of l - xl ~<x ~<1 of space charge. Substituting ( 12) into
an open system is presented in fig. 2 for a number (3) we obtain the equation
of values of the parameter k.
Now let us turn to closed systems. Formula (14) dee'/ 1
2~-5= --exp(~l--~t) (19)
remains valid, but the concentration C~ is now a
function of the current I and of C2 and is itself sub- Integration of (19) with due account of the condi-
ject to determination by making use of (5). The nor- tion O~'/Oxl. . . . . I gives
malizing integral (5) can be recast as
X0 X t
03{// I~ 1 +e~'l-~') +12] 1/2 (20)
0x - - (V- ~-
0 x 0 Repeated integration of (20) with due account of
I
the relation (9) makes it possible to obtain an im-
plicit dependence of ~ on x:
+ / C2(x)dx=J~ + J 2 + J 3 . (17)
~//~ ~+li~O dy
X t

(x--xl) = -- ~/y-- 1 + e - Y + M 2 / 2 "

(21)
I~,I4
15 Having put in (21) x = 1 and V= Vit is easy to find
how does the size of the space charge region 1 - x ~
depend on V and L For the case of relatively high
negative potentials (such that ( V+ I - q/o ] >> 1 ) the
corresponding integral may be approximately cal-
10
culated. For ]Yl >> 1 the integrand is exponentially
small, and the main contribution into the integral give
small values of the argument: lY[ "Ix/~<< 1. Ex-
panding the exponent exp ( - y ) into a series we come
5 to the approximate expression

(l_x,) ~22_ = i dy
0 x/Y2+"~12/2' (22)

where a > 0 is a number of the order of unity. Cal-

1 C° culating the integral in (22) and taking into consid-
eration that a << (Ix/~)-1 we get finally
Fig. 3. The dependences of limiting current It for an open system
(curve 1) and of quasi-limiting current lqt for a closed system 1
1 - x l =x/~ l n ) - - ~ . (23)
(curve 2) on the concentrations C o and C2 respectively (see eqs.
(16) and (28)).
 Yu. Ya. Gurevich, Yu.L Kharkats / Currentflow in materials with two sorts of carriers
Thus, for sufficiently high (negative) potentials
and current I the space charge region 1 - x ~ depends
only on the current I; in particular, for limiting cur-
rent 1 - x I is given by expression (23) with I re-
placed by I~ (relation (23) is inapplicable for I ~ 0
according to the conditions of its derivation).
Now, calculating the integral J3 notice that the fac-
tor exp (~u~- ~) appearing in ,]3 is present in the right-
hand side of eq. ( 19 ), and this, in view of (20) and
(23) and also of (8) and ( 11 ), allows us to write J3
as
l d2~//
J,= f fl~(1-2-~)dx=fl(l-xl-2-~x,)
x I
C[ elx/~
C] + C[
×(~22 In + +x/~l + C' e -(v+l)/2-I)
- -
Comparison of expressions ( 18 ) and (24) shows that
the condition J3 > J2 may actually take place for rather
high negative potentials V.
The fulfillment of the inequality J3 > J2 physically
corresponds to such concentration distribution Cz (x)
when the main part of carriers of the second sort is,
for rather high negative potentials V drawn into the
space-charge region near the interface x = 1. This is
due to the specific nature of closed systems, since in
an open system with the given value of C2(0)= C~
the region 0 ~<x < x i cannot be depleted of carriers of
the second sort owing to the replenishment of this
region by them through the interface x = 0.
Using eqs. (17), (18) and (24) for C) we have
C---~2- ~ -- +or exp[ ( A V + I ) / 2 ]
where o t = e x p ( - V e / 2 ) ~ and ot<<l since
2 << I. The substitution of C~ from (25) into expres-
sion (14) yields the current-voltage characteristic of
a closed system. This characteristic may be sche-
matically divided into three regions of values of A V
which conform to qualitatively different current
behaviors.
For not very large A V, by virtue of the condition
c~<< 1, the second term in brackets in (25) is neg-
245
ligibly small. In this case the relation between C2 and
C~ as follows from (25), is given by the expression
C2I
C~ = C ] el - 1 -(721" (26)
Note that from (26) and the condition C~/C] =
0
C2/C1 0
it follows that when I--,0 concentrations
C O and (72 are equal. The current-voltage charac-
teristic, in accordance with eqs. (14) and (26), is
determined by the equation
+ (72I( 1 --el)
du/l
The curve I(AV) for small AV has an ohmic part
similar to that considered earlier for an open system
(region I). With the growth of A Vthe function I(A V)
reaches the plateau, which corresponds to the value
I=Iq~. This current will further be called quasi-lim-
. (24)
iting (region II). The quasi-limiting current Iqi con-
forms to falling off to zero of the expression in brack-
ets in (27). The relation between Iq~ and (72 is
(72= 1 --exp(--Iql) (28)
I.
It is interesting to compare the dependence of the
currents I~ and Iql for open and closed systems on
C o and (72 respectively (see fig. 3).
Recall that the quantity C o for an open system (in
contrast to C O for a closed system) does not depend
on the current. At the same time, for small currents
( I - . 0 ) they both define the average space-constant
value of the concentration (72; in this case in an open
system C O-~(72. Both curves Ii(C °) and Iq1((72) be-
have similarly when the values of their arguments
are close to zero and unity.
, To C O= (72 = 0 corresponds a unipolar conductor
with one sort of carriers for which their is no limiting
(25)
current (formally, Ii,qr-,oo). To C°=(72=1 corre-
sponds the absence of carriers of the first sort able
to travel though the interface, and, therefore, the
falling off to zero of both/1 and lq~.
Thus, the studied curves I1(C °) and Iq~((72)
emerge from one point C2° = (72 = 1. In addition, as
(16) and (28) tell, their slopes differ twice in this
point, the curve Iq~((72) lying higher than the curve
I,(C°).
The growth of A V leads to the transfer in the cur-
246 Yu. Ya. Gurevich, Yu.L Kharkats / Current flow in materials with two sorts of carriers
rent-voltage characteristic of a closed system into the
region III, which is absent for an open system. Leav-
ing in (25) only the second addend in brackets and
taking into account that C)(I)<< C] we obtain
C~ = C ] C2 a - I exp[ - (AV+I)/2] .
The current-voltage characteristic, in view of (14)
and (27) and the condition C~ << C] takes the shape
I
~ + 1 = [ 1 - C2ot-1 e x p ( I - AV)/2 ] e x p ( A V - I ) .
It is apparent that eq. (30) is quadratic in
exp (A V - I) and the solution of this equation yields
the relation
A V = i + l n [ f l + ~ f l 2 + k +1 ] 2 ,
f l - C 2 / ( 2 o t ) which gives the current-voltage char-
acteristic in region III.
Note that the second addend in (31 ) weakly de-
pends on the current I and that the obtained depen-
dence is quasi-ohmic. It is especially simple in the
limit k-~oo when the second term of the radicand in
(31 ) can be neglected in comparison with the pa-
rameter fiE (note that fl>> 1 since 2 << 1 ). In this limit
A V = I + ln( 4fl 2) .
Relation (32) describes the ohmic dependence of I
on AV with a "shift" ln(CEe vc/22C] ).
The obtained results are based on the premise that
in the region 1 - x ~< x < 1 we can use the Boltzmann
distribution. As follows from ( 1 ), this requires that
the condition OCl/Ox >> I is satisfied, which, in view
of the estimate Ci ~ 1 and formula (3), lead to the
inequality Ix/~ << 1. On the other hand, the condi-
tion J3 >>J2 is relevant when I>> C~-1 as it follows
from (25) with (32) taken into account.
Thus, the condition of the realization of region III
on the current-voltage characteristic consists in the
fulfillment of the double inequality
(~2)--1 <</<<j--1/2 .
Since the parameter 2 is small, there exists a wide
range of current values for which the inequalities
(33) are fulfilled.
Therefore, for a closed system, as distinct from an
open system, the current ~ voltage characteristic may,
along with the usual ohmic region for small A V in-
clude a quasi-ohmic region in the range of rather large
A V. Notice that the effective ohmic resistances in
these two regions differ considerably: in region I, the
current transport in the electroneutrality region is ef-
(29)
fected by carriers of the first sort with the concen-
tration equal to
C ° = C ] / ( C ] +C~) ,-, 1 - C 2 , (34)
whereas in region III, this transport is carried out by
(30) the same carriers but with the concentration C O=
1. Physically, this is due to the fact that all carriers
of the second sort are drawn into the space charge
region near the interface x = 1 and the electroneu-
trality region is filled, in addition, by those carriers
(31) of the first sort which have travelled across the in-
terface x = 0 so that to fully balance the background
of fixed negative charges.
The current-voltage characteristics for a closed
system, obtained by the numerical solution of the set
of equations ( 14 ) and (25 ), are presented in fig. 4a-
c. The pictures illustrate the character of dependence
of the studied curves on three dimensionless param-
eters: the dimensionless kinetic constant k of the
transfer through the interface; the parameter a which
is proportional to the ratio of the Debye length to the
(32) conductor's thickness; the average relative concen-
tration of carriers of the second sort. As it is clear
from fig. 4a-c, the span of the plateau of quasi-lim-
iting current diminishes with the decrease of k from
the side of small A V and with the increase of a from
the side of large AV. The value of AVcorresponding
to the right-hand end of the plateau and denoted by
(AV)q~ may be estimated from formula (32):
(A V)ql =Iql + 2 1 n ( C z / o t ) (35)
where the current Iq~ is determined by eq. (28).
The height of the plateau is governed mainly by
the parameter Cz on which Iql depends; Iq~ (the pla-
teau height) grows with the decrease of C2.
The studied current-voltage characteristics re-
(33)
ferred to systems which were conventionally called
open and closed in compliance with the boundary
condition at x = 0 ; the boundary (interface) x = 1 was
treated as impenetrable to carriers of the second sort.
In principle, an inverse situation is possible when for
carriers of the second sort the interface x = 0 is closed
 Yu. Ya. Gurevich, Yu.L Kharkats / Current flow in materials with two sorts of carriers 247

12 3

0 10 &V

I 0 5 AV

/ Fig. 5. The current-voltage characteristic of an inverse open sys-

tem, C=C~'e/C] = C2/C~.
o o l-k= 10, C=0.01; 2-k= 10, C= 1; 3-
k=10, C= 10; 4-k=0.1, C=0.01; 5-k=0.01, C=0.01.

which, together with eq. (14), determines the sys-

tem's current-voltage characteristics. After some
simple transformations it can he recast in the fol-
lowing form:
AV=I+ln[I/k+l+(C[,e/C])(1-e-1)] , (36)

0 10 20 ,',V where by C[ "e = C2 ( 1 ) is designated the value of the

concentration C2 at I = 0. The curve I ( A V) specified
by (36) has an ohmic region for small AV and a
I
10 quasi-ohmic region for large A V like in the case con-
sidered above with a smooth transition between them
(see fig. 5). The physical reason for the formation
1
of the quasi-ohmic dependence is here the same as
it was for the closed systems. It is connected with the
departure of carriers of the second sort from the con-
ductor bulk when AV rises.

i
3. Conclusions
0 10 20 aV

Fig. 4. The current-voltage characteristic of a closed system: (a)
c~= 10-4; C2=0.7. k: 1-10; 2-10-1; 3-10-2; 4-10 -3. (b) k= 10;
C2=0.7. a: 1-10 -2, 2-10-3; 3-10-4; 4-10 -s. (c) k=10;
a = l0 -4. C2: 1-0.15; 2-0.2; 3-0.3; 4-0.5; 5-0.7.
and the interface x = 1 is open. In this case, the re-
lation between C~ and the given value o f the con-
centration C2 ( 1 ) = const is described, according to
(2), by the expression C~ = C 2 ( 1 ) e x p ( V e - AV)
Thus, this study shows that the current-voltage
characteristic o f a unipolar two-component conduc-
tor has peculiarities which sharply distinguish it from
the volt-ampere characteristics of conductors with
carriers o f both signs. The behavior o f a unipolar
conductor depends critically on the properties of the
interfaces. If carriers of both sorts freely travel
through both interfaces, then the behavior is ohmic
with the resistance determined by the mobilities and
248 Yu. Ya. Gurevich, Yu.L Kharkats / Current flow in materials with two sorts of carriers
concentrations of both sorts of carriers (see fig. 6a).
If for one sort of carriers the right-hand interface is
closed (see fig. 6b) (but the system as a whole re-
mains open owing to permeability of the left-hand
interface), then the current-voltage characteristic has
two specific regions: region I ohmic, with the resis-
tance determined by the bulk concentration of the
carriers for which both interfaces are open, and re-
gion II of limiting current 16 the expression for I~ is
given by eq. (16) which reduces to the well-known
expression for limiting diffusion current only in the
limit C O<< 1. Finally, in the case when for one sort
o f carriers both interfaces are closed (a closed sys-
tem), the current-voltage characteristic has three
specific regions (see fig. 6c). Region I, ohmic, is
similar to that o f the previous case (see fig, 6b). Re-
gion II is analogous to the region of limiting current;
the value o f quasi-limiting current Iql corresponding
to this region is given by formula (28) (see also fig.
3).
A salient feature o f the current-voltage curve for
2 2 (a)
,~V
E quasi-ohmic region.
2 ~'- , 2 ~ ~ (b)
av
"2 ×=1 2 E
f The predicted peculiarities of current-voltage
AV
2 -] 2 -
I (dl / f
aV
Fig. 6. The relation between the form of boundary conditions and
the shape of current-voltage characteristics (shown schemati-
cally): (a) both interfaces are open to carriers of both sorts; (b)
the right-hand interface is closed to carriers of the second sort
(an open system); (c) both interfaces are closed to carriers of
the second sort (a closed system); (d) left-hand interface is closed
and the right-hand interface is open to carders of the second sort
(an inverse open system).
a closed system is the appearance of a quasi-ohmic
region III in the range of rather high negative po-
tentials. The effective resistance in this range o f po-
tentials is determined by the concentration and mo-
bility of those carriers which travel through both
interfaces, this concentration being equal to the con-
centration of background fixed charges. Note that a
situation of this kind conforms to the relation E = I
(see eq. (7) ). In this case, the effective resistance of
the conductor in the studied quasi-ohmic regime is
certainly less than that in the region I of small cur-
rents. Altogether, it may be larger as well as smaller
than the ohmic resistance of the same conductor open
to carriers of both sorts (see fig. 6a), depending on
the relationship between the mobilities o f carriers of
different sorts. Finally, fig. 6d schematically gives the
current-voltage characteristic o f a system with the
right-hand interface open to carriers o f the second
sort.
We note in conclusion that in the range of rather
high negative potentials there may appear certain ef-
fects which are not allowed for in the model consid-
ered above. To this kind o f effects belongs, in par-
ticular, the effect o f charge saturation [8] which
results from the fact that the concentration o f car-
riers cannot exceed a certain maximal value that de-
pends on the properties of the conducting material.
The effect o f charge saturation may lead to the de-
crease of current growth rate with potential in the
As follows from the performed calculations, mul-
ticompinent unipolar conductors must behave
similarly.
curves may benefit studies of the bulk properties of
unipolar conductors and o f their phase boundaries
as well.
References
[ 1] W. Weppner and H. Schulz, eds. in: Proc. 6th Internat. Conf.
on Solid State Ionics (Garmisch-Partenkirchen, FRG. Sept.
6-11, 1987) Solid State Ionics 28-30 ( 1988) Part I and II.
[ 2 ] Yu.Ya. Gurevich and Yu.l. Kharkats, Phys. Rep. 139 (1986)
201.
[3]Yu.Ya. Gurevich and A.K. Ivanov-Shits, Semiconduct.
Semimet. 26 ( 1988 ) 229.
 Yu. Ya. Gurevich, Yu.L Kharkats / Current flow in materials with two sorts of carriers 249

[4] S.F. Timashev, Physics and chemistry of membrane processes [7] G. Newman, Electrochemical systems (P~ntice Hall, New
(Khimiya, Moscow, 1988 ) [ in Russian ]. York, 1973).
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Akad. Nauk SSSR 298 (1988) 383. 229(1976)367.
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