Non-Gaussianity of resistance fluctuations near electrical breakdown

TL;DR

This paper investigates the resistance fluctuation distribution in thin films near electrical breakdown, revealing non-Gaussian behavior that aligns with the Bramwell-Holdsworth-Pinton distribution near criticality.

Contribution

It demonstrates the non-Gaussian nature of resistance fluctuations and connects it to the generalized Gumbel and BHP distributions in correlated systems.

Findings

Resistance fluctuations become non-Gaussian near breakdown.

Distribution aligns with BHP distribution near percolation threshold.

Non-Gaussianity depends on system size, disorder, and current level.

Abstract

We study the resistance fluctuation distribution of a thin film near electrical breakdown. The film is modeled as a stationary resistor networkunder biased percolation. Depending on the value of the external current,on the system sizes and on the level of internal disorder, the fluctuation distribution can exhibit a non-Gaussian behavior. We analyze this non-Gaussianity in terms of the generalized Gumbel distribution recently introduced in the context of highly correlated systems near criticality. We find that when the average fraction of defects approaches the random percolation threshold, the resistance fluctuation distribution is well described by the universal behavior of the Bramwell-Holdsworth-Pinton distribution.