Effect of disorder on the Kondo behavior of thin Cu(Mn) films

Abstract

We have studied the influence of disorder on the Kondo effect in thin films of Cu(Mn), i.e., Cu doped with a small amount of Mn. We find that the Kondo contribution to the resistivity is suppressed when the elastic mean-free-path, $\lambda$, is reduced. While this is qualitatively similar to results found previously by our group in a different material, our new experiments reveal in detail how this suppression depends on both film thickness and $\lambda$. These results are compared with the theory of Martin, Wan, and Phillips. While there is general qualitative agreement with this theory, there appear to be some quantitative discrepancies.