The electrical transport in luminescent porous silicon

Various electrical conduction routes and transport mechanisms have been proposed previously to explain the electrical properties of luminescent porous silicon (LPSi). A review of the available data seems to indicate that there are more independent types of data that suggest the scenario of inter-crystallite tunneling under Coulomb blockade conditions, than types of data that suggest other route-mechanism scenarios. However, all the corresponding interpretations were based on data that were of a qualitative-suggestive nature. In this communication we present quantitative evidence for the above-mentioned scenario, thus establishing it as the most likely model to account for the electrical properties of LPSi.