NANOCRYSTALLINE SILICON - FROM DISORDERED INSULATOR TO DIRTY METAL

Selected results of a study of the metal-insulator transition in n-typ e nanocrystalline Si:H,F down to T approximate to 30 K are presented. The transition occurs around an electron density of 1 x 10(19) cm(-3). On the insulator side, hopping conduction in a parabolic density of s tates near the Fermi level dominates below room temperature. On the me tallic side, the conductivity reflects electron-electron interactions, with a temperature dependence of T-1/2 at temperatures less than 270 K.