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7 - Electronic transport

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 March 2010

R. A. Street
Affiliation:
Xerox Palo Alto Research Center, Stanford University, California
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Summary

The previous chapters are concerned with the structure and the density of states distribution of a-Si: H, describing the effects of growth, doping and defect reactions. The remainder of the book addresses the various electronic phenomena which result from the electronic structure. Foremost amongst these properties is the electrical conductivity, σ. The distinction between localized and extended electronic states is one of the fundamental concepts in the study of amorphous semiconductors. At zero temperature, carriers in extended states are conducting, but in localized states are not. Most of the experimental measurements of the localized state distribution rely on this property. Although both the concept of electrical conduction and its measurement seem simple, it is a complex process. The conductivity is a macroscopic quantity which represents an average property of the carriers as they move from site to site. The calculation of the conductivity therefore involves the transfer rate, scattering and trapping processes, as well as the appropriate average over the distribution of states. The averaging due to the disorder is the most difficult and leads to many of the interesting effects. The theory of conductivity near a mobility edge in disordered systems has been debated for many years and is still not completely agreed. The theory has applications beyond the boundaries of amorphous semiconductors, for example, in doped crystals, amorphous metals and low-dimensional materials. The discussion of the theory in this book is necessarily abbreviated and describes only the main ideas and how they apply to a-Si:H.

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Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 1991

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  • Electronic transport
  • R. A. Street, Xerox Palo Alto Research Center, Stanford University, California
  • Book: Hydrogenated Amorphous Silicon
  • Online publication: 13 March 2010
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511525247.008
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  • Electronic transport
  • R. A. Street, Xerox Palo Alto Research Center, Stanford University, California
  • Book: Hydrogenated Amorphous Silicon
  • Online publication: 13 March 2010
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511525247.008
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Electronic transport
  • R. A. Street, Xerox Palo Alto Research Center, Stanford University, California
  • Book: Hydrogenated Amorphous Silicon
  • Online publication: 13 March 2010
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511525247.008
Available formats
×