Electrical conductivity of plasma-deposited carbon–germanium amorphous semiconductors: correlation with nanostructure

Abstract Investigations of electrical conductivity of plasma-deposited carbon–germanium amorphous semiconductors in the wide range of temperature and frequency have been carried out. It has been found that the electrical conductivity dependence on temperature and frequency fits a model, which is common for percolation transport in heterogeneous systems. The direct correlation between obtained results and material nanostructure, which consists of nanometer-size germanium clusters organized in larger domains, has been proved. Two hopping mechanisms related to jumps between neighboring cluster and neighboring domains as well as charge transport inside germanium clusters have been identified.