Mooij rule and weak localization

It has been shown that the observed correlation between the resistivity ρ of high-resistivity metallic alloys and the sign of the temperature derivative of their resistivity can be explained by taking into account the weak localization effect. This correlation is as follows: the derivative d ρ/ dT is negative for alloys with resistivity in the range of 150–300 μΩ cm, which corresponds to the mean free path of electrons about the interatomic distance; however, this derivative is positive for alloys with lower resistivities (Mooij rule).