Variable-range hopping do conduction in dysprosium oxide films grown on Si substrates

Thin dysprosium oxide films were prepared on p-Si substrates to form MOS structure. The oxide films were annealed at different conditions and their crystal structures were determined by X-ray diffraction. The do electrical transport properties of the devices were studied in the temperature range (293-400 K). The current-temperature characteristics was analysed according to Mott's variable-range hopping mechanism. The mechanism's parameters were calculated and compared with the results obtained by X-ray diffraction. It was established that as the average grain size of air-annealed films increases, the disorder degree parameter To decreases and the density of states at Fermi level increases, which leads to decrease the average hopping distance: (C) 2006 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.