Electrical conductivity mechanisms in Au_<i>x</i>Si_1−<i>x</i>-amorphous alloys

Abstract

Abstract Gold-silicon amorphous alloys Au x Si1−x have been prepared by simultaneous evaporation and condensation of the constituents in a high vacuum. The electrical conductivity was measured in the semiconducting region (x ≤ 0·13). For low gold concentration (x < 0·10), the data can be analysed in the framework of variable-range hopping theories; for gold concentrations 0·087 ≤ x ≤ 0·12 the conductivity behaviour can be attributed to electron tunnelling between metallic clusters embedded in a semiconducting matrix. The role of electronectron correiations on variable-range hopping conductivity is also studied.