Coulomb gap triptych in a periodic array of metal nanocrystals

Abstract

The Coulomb gap in the single particle density of states (DOS) is a universal consequence of electron-electron interaction in disordered systems with localized electron states. Here we show that in arrays of monodisperse metallic nanocrystals, there is not one but three identical adjacent Coulomb gaps, which together form a structure that we call a "Coulomb gap triptych." We calculate the DOS and the conductivity in two- and three-dimensional arrays using a computer simulation. Unlike in the conventional Coulomb glass models, in nanocrystal arrays the DOS has a fixed width in the limit of large disorder. The Coulomb gap triptych can be studied via tunneling experiments.

4+ pages, 3 figures

References in corpus (1)

• Theory of hopping conduction in arrays of doped semiconductor nanocrystals

Cited by in corpus (3)

• Conductivity of two-dimensional narrow gap semiconductors subjected to strong Coulomb disorder
• Conductivity of two-dimensional small gap semiconductors and topological insulators in strong Coulomb disorder
• Proximity coupling of granular film with ferroelectric substrate and giant electro-resistance effect