MESOSCOPIC CONDUCTANCE FLUCTUATIONS IN 2-DIMENSIONAL PERCOLATION GOLD-FILMS NEAR THE PERCOLATION-THRESHOLD

The conductivity of discontinuous Ar-irradiated gold films is studied in the temperature range 0.5-55 K. It is found that near the percolati on threshold (on the insulating side of metal-insulator transition) th e film shows tile evidence for one-dimensional hopping conduction. The fluctuations of hopping conduction are observed. It. is shown that su ch behavior of the film can be determined by a single linking chain. T he presence of narrow insulating bridges in such chain is responsible for both the one-dimensional behavior of hopping conduction in tile wh ole two-dimensional system and the observed fluctuations of conductivi ty. These fluctuations can be attributed to unusual manifestation of t he effects of incoherent mesoscopics.