Which mechanism limits the conductivity of a doped semiconductor at low temperatures?

💡 Explanation

When the temperature is decreased in a doped semiconductor, decreased thermal energy reduces free carrier screening of ionized dopants, leading to increased Coulomb scattering of electrons by the ionized impurities. Therefore, scattering from ionized impurities limits conductivity, rather than other effects, which would require different temperature dependencies and impurity concentrations.

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