The Meyer–Neldel rule and the statistical shift of the Fermi level in amorphous semiconductors

The statistical model is used to study the origin of the Meyer–Neldel (MN) rule [σ0∝exp(AEσ)] in a tetrahedral amorphous system. It is shown that a deep minimum in the gap density of states spectrum can lead to the linearity of the Fermi energy F(T) to the derivative (dF/dkT), as required from the rule. An expression is derived which relates the constant A in the rule to the gap density of states spectrum. The dispersion ranges of σ0 and Eσ are found to be related with the constant A. Model calculations show a magnitude of A and a wide dispersion of σ0 and Eσ in fair agreement with the experimental observations. A discussion is given to what extent the MN rule is dependent on the gap density of states spectrum.