| In this thesis, we study charge transport in arrays of semiconductor nanocrystal quantum dots. Nanocrystals are synthesized in solution, and an organic ligand on the surface of the nanocrystal creates a potential barrier that confines charges in the nanocrystal. Optical absorption measurements reveal discrete electronic energy levels in the nanocrystals resulting from quantum confinement. When nanocrystals are deposited on a surface, they self-assemble into a close-packed array forming a nanocrystal solid.;We report electrical transport measurements of a PbSe nanocrystal solid that serves as the channel of an inverted field-effect transistor. We measure the conductance as a function of temperature, source-drain bias and. gate voltage. The data indicates that holes are the majority carriers; the Fermi energy lies in impurity states in the bandgap of the nanocrystal; and charges hop between the highest occupied valence state in the nanocrystals (the 1S h states). At low source-drain voltages, the activation energy for hopping is given by the energy required to generate holes in the 1Sh state plus activation over barriers resulting from site disorder. The barriers from site disorder are eliminated with a sufficiently high source-drain bias. From the gate effect, we extract the Thomas-Fermi screening length and a density of states that is consistent with the estimated value. We consider variable-range hopping as an alternative model, and find no self-consistent evidence for it.;Next, we employ charge sensing as an alternative to current measurements for studying transport in materials with localized sites. A narrow-channel MOSFET serves as a charge sensor because its conductance is sensitive to potential fluctuations in the nearby environment caused by the motion of charge. In particular, it is sensitive to the fluctuation of single electrons at the silicon-oxide interface within the MOSFET. We pattern a strip of amorphous germanium within 100 nm of the transistor. The transistor is a sensitive electrometer, enabling precise measurement of resistance in the amorphous germanium film that is too high to measure with conventional methods (>1016O). In light of our ultimate goal of using the charge sensor to sense charges hopping within a nanocrystal solid, we develop a novel method for patterning nanocrysta1 solids with nanoscale precision. |
