Electron Transport in Polymer‐Derived Amorphous Silicon Oxycarbonitride Ceramics

The electron transport behavior of polymer‐derived amorphous silicon oxycarbonitride ceramics is studied by measuring their temperature‐dependent electrical conductivities. The experimental results are analyzed using theoretical models. The results reveal that the materials exhibit three conduction mechanisms: conduction in extended states, conduction in band tails, and conduction in localized states. Particularly, it is found that in a low‐temperature regime, the conduction of the materials follows a band tail hopping mechanism, rather than the previously assumed variable range hopping mechanism. The results also reveal that energy gaps such as E C − E F and E C − E A decrease with increasing pyrolysis temperature.