Rate equations in the hopping transport III. A completely new interpretation of the dc phonon-assisted hopping in the mobility gap

A new interpretation of the low-frequency phonon-assisted hopping conduction in the mobility gap of disordered semiconductors which is inherently connected with the effect of broadening of electronic levels due to electron-phonon coupling is suggested. This interpretation is fully compatible with our previous reported mathematical theory of the hopping conduction. It is argued that the current understanding of the hopping transport is based on a dubious neglect of the above mentioned broadening which makes the usual theories of the dc phonon-assisted hopping conduction inconsistent.