On the Transport Properties of Microcrystalline Silicon at Low Temperatures

Abstract

The dark and photoconductivity have been measured over a wide temperature range with a high crystallinity hydrogenated microcrystalline silicon (μc-Si:H) sample. It is the first time that photoconductivity over such a broad temperature range (down to 20 K) has been reported. Striking similarities in the temperature dependences of the dark and photoconductivity between μc-Si:H and some well studied materials, such as hydrogenated amorphous silicon, suggest that at low temperatures hopping of carriers between localized states dominates the transport properties of μc-Si:H.