Experimental Study of Anderson Localization in Thin Wires

The electrical properties of wires with cross-sectional areas ($A$) in the range 1×${10}^{-11\mathrm{}}$ to 3×${10}^{-10\mathrm{}}$ ${\mathrm{cm}}^2$ have been studied. At temperatures below about 10 K the resistance of the wires increases with decreasing temperature. The size of the increase varies as $A^{-1\mathrm{}}$ and becomes larger as the impurity resistance is made larger, in qualitative agreement with recent theoretical predictions by Thouless. The size of the increase is in order-of-magnitude agreement with the theory but the temperature dependence is not.