Normal and anti Meyer–Neldel rule in conductivity of highly crystallized undoped microcrystalline silicon films

We have studied the electrical conductivity behavior of highly crystallized undoped hydrogenated microcrystalline silicon (μc-Si:H) films having different microstructures. The dark conductivity is seen to follow Meyer–Neldel rule (MNR) in some films and anti-MNR in others, which has been explained on the basis of variation in the film microstructure and the corresponding changes in the effective density of states distributions. A band tail transport and statistical shift of Fermi level are used to explain the origin of MNR as well as anti-MNR in our samples. The observation of MNR and anti-MNR in electrical transport behavior of μc-Si:H is discussed in terms of the basic underlying physics of their origin and the significance of these relationships.