Physical mechanisms of nonlinear conductivity: a model analysis

Nonlinear effects are omnipresent in thin films of ion conducting materials showing up as a significant increase of the conductivity. For a disordered hopping model general physical mechanisms are identified giving rise to the occurrence of positive or negative nonlinear effects, respectively. Analytical results are obtained in the limit of high but finite dimensions. They are compared with the numerical results for 3D up to 6D systems. A very good agreement can be found, in particular for higher dimensions. The results can also be used to rationalize previous numerical simulations. The implications for the interpretation of nonlinear conductivity experiments on inorganic ion conductors are discussed.