Electronic conduction in highly anisotropic systems

(Received 23 March 1993, revised 18 May 1993, accepted 19 May 1993)

Abstract
We have calculated the ratio of conductivities along the chains and perpendicular to the chains in highly anisotropic quasi-one-dimensional systems. The electronic motion along the transverse direction is viewed as a coherent inter-chain tunnelling between neighbouring chains blocked by repeated intra-chain incoherent scatterings. Our results predict intrinsically the same temperature dependence for both conductivities. It also predicts a linear dependence of the anisotropy ratio on the carrier concentration, which is absent in the earlier treatments of the same problem.