Variable-range-hopping conduction processes in oxygen deficient polycrystalline ZnO films

We have fabricated oxygen deficient polycrystalline ZnO films by the rf sputtering deposition method. To systematically investigate the charge transport mechanisms in these samples, the electrical resistivities have been measured over a wide range of temperature from 300 K down to liquid-helium temperatures. We found that below about 100 K, the variable-range-hopping (VRH) conduction processes govern the charge transport properties. In particular, the Mott VRH conduction process dominates at higher temperatures, while crossing over to the Efros–Shklovskii (ES) VRH conduction process at lower temperatures. The crossover occurred at temperatures as high as a few tens degrees kelvin. Moreover, the temperature behavior of resistivity over the entire VRH conduction regime from the Mott-type to the ES-type process can be well described by a universal scaling law.