Narrow ͑у95 nm͒ and extremely thin ͑ϳ7 nm͒ heavily phosphorous-doped polycrystalline-silicon ͑poly-Si͒ wires were fabricated by low-pressure chemical vapor deposition. The electrical conduction mechanism has been investigated at low temperatures ͑down to ϳ5 K͒, and observation by transmission electron microscopy ͑TEM͒ was carried out. Single-electron effects such as Coulomb oscillations have been observed at temperatures up to 80 K. The size of the island in the poly-Si wires was estimated from the electrical properties, and it was in the same order as the grain size of the poly-Si measured by TEM. A maximum tunnel barrier height of ϳ26 meV of the poly-Si grain boundary is obtained from the temperature dependence of the conductance of the sample. A model for the electronic conduction through multiple islands was proposed from the width dependence of their electrical properties.

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Introduction Polycrystal silicon (poly-Si) are widely used and a key material in ultra large scale integrated circuits (ULSD. With reducing the size of electronic devices, the thickness and the width of the poly-Si wires becomes smaller, and may ultimately approach to a limit where a single electron effect determines the "on" and "off' states of the devices. Therefore, it is necessary to clear the influence of such small poly-Si wires more explicitly for utilizing them in the future ULSIs. The structural characteristics of the poly-Si wires strongly depend on the deposition method and condition, and directly influence the electrical properties. However, only a few studies have been reported to date [1-3].

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