Resistivity (ρ) is a property that quantifies the material's oppoistion to the flow of current.

Overview

Resistivity is the inverse of conductivity which quantifies the material's ability to transport electric charge. Resistivity is measured in ohm meters or centimeters (Ω cm or Ω m).

The resistivity of a material can be derived from the equation for resistance:

Temperature dependence

Although considered to be a fundamental property of a material, the resistivity of the material depends on the operating temperature.

Common Resistivity

Below is the resistivity for some common materials in the semiconductor industry. Note that for some bulk materials that are hexagonal, there are two values depending on the transport (perpendicular and parallel axis).

Resistivity and Mean Free Time/Path (at room temp)
Element	ρ (µΩ·cm)	τ (fs)	λ (nm)
Aluminum	2.65	11.8	18.9
Cobalt	6.2	21.2/17.6	11.8/7.77
Copper	1.678	36	39.9
Indium	8.8	5.27/5.05	8.65/8.16
Ruthenium	7.8	8.82/7.07	6.59/4.88
Tungsten	5.28	16	15.5
Reference Gall, D. (2016)

Bibliography

• Gall, D. (2016). Electron mean free path in elemental metals. Journal of Applied Physics, 119(8), 085101. doi:10.1063/1.4942216