Conductivity of self-organized silicon quantum dots embedded in silicon dioxide

Silicon quantum dots (SiQDs) embedded in silicon dioxide are being investigated as a means of engineering a wide band gap semiconductor for potential application in silicon based tandem solar cells. The conductivity of the self-organized silicon dots embedded in the oxide is an important parameter in characterizing the electronic transport mechanisms. We present in this paper our initial results on measurement of the resistivity as a function of temperature. In order to reduce contact resistance aluminium contacts are annealed to induce spiking through upper layers of oxide and thus producing a large contact surface area. Samples with various initial silicon rich concentrations are compared. Activation energies for various tentative conduction mechanisms are calculated from this data and possible conduction models presented.