Electron transport in amorphous materials: from localization to predictive transport modeling

Abstract

Amorphous materials are disordered solids without long-range structural order, making them useful systems for studying electron transport beyond the crystalline picture. This review discusses how structural disorder changes the spatial character of electron wavefunctions and how these changes govern carrier transport in amorphous materials, especially amorphous semiconductors. Basic concepts of Anderson localization, mobility edges, diffusive transport, and hopping transport are first reviewed, followed by representative amorphous semiconductors, including amorphous silicon and amorphous oxide semiconductors. Computational approaches are then discussed, from conventional Boltzmann and Green's-function-based transport theories to real-space Kubo-Greenwood simulations combined with molecular dynamics. The discussion focuses on localization, spectral broadening, finite-temperature lattice fluctuations, and electron-phonon interactions. Recent progress and remaining issues in predictive transport modeling of amorphous materials are then outlined.