Measurements of the complex conductivity of NbxSi(1-x) alloys on the insulating side of the metal-insulator transition

Phys Rev Lett. 2001 Sep 10;87(11):116602. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.87.116602. Epub 2001 Aug 23.

Abstract

We have conducted temperature and frequency dependent transport measurements in amorphous NbxSi1-x samples in the insulating regime. We find a temperature dependent dc conductivity consistent with variable range hopping in a Coulomb glass. The frequency dependent response in the millimeter-wave frequency range can be described by the expression sigma(omega) varies with (-iota omega)(alpha) with the exponent somewhat smaller than 1. Our ac results are not consistent with extant theories for the hopping transport.