Electron transport in disordered insulating lattice under nonlinear electric field

Abstract: Transport in disordered systems often occurs via the variable range hopping (VRH) in the dilute carrier density limit, where electrons hop between randomly distributed localized levels. We study the nonequilibrium transport by a uniform DC electric field on a one-dimensional insulating tight-binding chain with the on-site disorder, using a finite-lattice calculation and the coherent potential approximation. We develop a theory of electric-field-assisted variable range hopping as a mechanism for nonlinear transport in a disordered chain. Our finite-lattice calculations of the electron propagation distance and the electron mobility determine the range of the variable range hopping as $\Delta < W \lesssim 2\Delta$ in the gap $\Delta$. We further propose a nonlinear scaling of the conductivity by an electric field that is similar to Mott's variable range hopping in equilibrium. The nonlinear conductivity of an electronic lattice model follows the scaling law $\sigma(E) \propto \exp[-(E_0/E)^{\nu}]$ with the exponent $\nu = 1/3$ in one dimension for the VRH. We also discuss the experimental relevance of temperature-dependent nonlinear current-voltage relation.