We investigate the macroscopic diffusion of carriers in the multiple-trapping (MT) regime, in relation with electron transport in nanoscaled heterogeneous systems, and we describe the differences, as well as the similarities, between MT and the continuous-time random walk (CTRW). Diffusion of free carriers in MT can be expressed as a generalized continuity equation based on fractional time derivatives, while the CTRW model for diffusive transport generalizes the constitutive equation for the carrier flux.

• Received 26 December 2002

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.91.010602