Monte Carlo study of the electron transport properties of an array of Si nanocrystals

We have studied the conductivity of an array of Si nanocrystals separated by energy barriers using the Monte Carlo technique. The energy band diagram was calculated by self-consistent solution of the Poisson equation. It is shown that the simulation data can be interpreted by an equivalent network of series resistors. A resistance can be attributed to the energy barrier that increases with increasing barrier width. The barrier resistance has been calculated as a function of the barrier width. Our results can be useful in studying the thermoelectric properties of composite structures in the presence of energy barriers. The assumption of an in-series resistor network commonly used to study the thermoelectric properties of nanocomposites has been confirmed by our simulations on 1d nanocomposites. (C) 2015 Published by Elsevier Ltd.