On the electrical resistivity by scattering on metallic grain boundaries

The contribution to the residual electrical resistivity of high angle grain boundaries due to the scattering of conduction electrons by voids into the boundaries is calculated for Au, Cu, and Al. Two types of geometries are considered: array of cylindrical voids for symmetrical tilt boundaries and point voids for boundaries with lower symmetry. In both cases a self‐consistent potential, solution of a linearized Thomas‐Fermi equation, is used. This contribution, of about a few 10 −13 Ωcm 2 , accounts for at maximum 25% of the experimental specific grain boundary resistivity, which seems to indicate that bulk effects predominate.