Can single-electron integrated circuits and quantum computers be fabricated in silicon?

Tucker, J. R.; Shen, T. C.

doi:10.1002/1097-007x(200011/12)28:6<553::aid-cta127>3.0.co;2-i

Cited by 43 publications

(28 citation statements)

References 22 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Emerging nano-electronic devices such as the Kane solid-state quantum computer 1 require phosphorus atoms positioned with atomic precision in a silicon substrate. Accurate placement of phosphorus atoms on the silicon surface has been achieved 2,3 using the method of scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) hydrogen lithography [4][5][6] . This method involves the controlled reaction of phosphine molecules (PH 3 ) with lithographically created reactive sections of a hydrogen-terminated silicon (001) surface.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Diffusion pathways of phosphorus atoms on silicon (001)

et al. 2009

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Using density functional theory and a combination of growing string and dimer method transition state searches, we investigate the interaction of phosphorus atoms with the silicon (001) surface.We report reaction pathways for three technologically important processes: diffusion of phosphorus adatoms on the surface, incorporation of the phosphorus adatom into the surface, and diffusion of the incorporated phosphorus atom within the surface. These reactions have direct relevance to nanoscale lithographic schemes capable of positioning single phosphorus atoms on the silicon surface. Temperatures of activation for the various processes are calculated and, where possible, compared with experiment.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Diffusion pathways of phosphorus atoms on silicon (001)

et al. 2009

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…This technique has been proposed for building quantum cellular automata [2], single electron transistors [3][4][5], and a Si based quantum computer [6][7][8][9]. In these approaches, STM lithography is used to selectively desorb hydrogen from a hydrogen terminated Si(0 0 1):H surface from the nanometer down to the atomic scale.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Phosphorus and hydrogen atoms on the (001) surface of silicon: A comparative scanning tunnelling microscopy study of surface species with a single dangling bond

et al. 2006

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…The ability to control the location of individual dopant atoms within a semiconductor has enormous potential for the creation of atomic-scale electronic devices, including recent proposals for quantum cellular automata [1], single electron transistors [2] and solid-state quantum computers [3]. Current techniques for controlling the spatial extent of dopant atoms in Si rely on either ion implantation techniques, or dopant diffusion through optical or electron-beam patterned mask layers.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Atomically Precise Placement of Single Dopants in Si

Schofield¹,

Curson²,

Simmons³

et al. 2003

Phys. Rev. Lett.

385

373

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

We demonstrate the controlled incorporation of P dopant atoms in Si (001) presenting a new path toward the creation of atomic-scale electronic devices. We present a detailed study of the interaction of PH3 with Si (001) and show that it is possible to thermally incorporate P atoms into Si (001) below the H desorption temperature. Control over the precise spatial location at which P atoms are incorporated was achieved using STM H-lithography. We demonstrate the positioning of single P atoms in Si with ∼ 1 nm accuracy and the creation of nanometer wide lines of incorporated P atoms.PACS numbers: 03.67. Lx, 68.37.Ef, The ability to control the location of individual dopant atoms within a semiconductor has enormous potential for the creation of atomic-scale electronic devices, including recent proposals for quantum cellular automata [1], single electron transistors [2] and solid-state quantum computers [3]. Current techniques for controlling the spatial extent of dopant atoms in Si rely on either ion implantation techniques, or dopant diffusion through optical or electron-beam patterned mask layers. While the resolution of these techniques continues to improve they have inherent resolution limits as we approach the atomicscale [4]. The work presented here looks beyond conventional techniques to position P dopant atoms with atomic-precision by using scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) based lithography on H passivated Si (001) surfaces [5,6] to control the adsorption and subsequent incorporation of single P dopant atoms into the Si (001) surface.First, we show the controlled adsorption of PH 3 molecules to STM-patterned areas of H-terminated Si (001) surfaces. In these studies, we have used the H-terminated surface as a reference where the intrinsic surface periodicity can be observed to identify both adsorbed PH 3 molecules [7] and the previously unobserved room temperature dissociation product, PH 2 . We then show, using low PH 3 dosed clean Si (001) surfaces, that both of these room temperature adsorbates can be completely dissociated using a critical anneal, and more importantly, that this results in the substitutional incorporation of individual P atoms into the top layer of the substrate. Finally, we combine these two results to demonstrate the spatially controlled incorporation of individual P dopant atoms into the Si (001) surface with atomicscale precision. Of crucial importance to this final result is that the anneal temperature for P atom incorporation lies below the H-desorption temperature, so that the Hresist layer effectively blocks any surface diffusion of P atoms before their incorporation into the substrate surface.Figures 1(a) -1(c) demonstrate the flexibility of STM H-lithography to create different sized regions of bare Si (001) surface. As we will show, these regions can be used not only as a template for dopant incorporation but also to aid in fundamental studies of surface reactions. Figures 1(a) and 1(b) show the creation of both large areas (200 × 30 nm 2 ) and parallel, nanometer-wide lines...

show abstract

Can single-electron integrated circuits and quantum computers be fabricated in silicon?

Cited by 43 publications

References 22 publications

Diffusion pathways of phosphorus atoms on silicon (001)

Diffusion pathways of phosphorus atoms on silicon (001)

Phosphorus and hydrogen atoms on the (001) surface of silicon: A comparative scanning tunnelling microscopy study of surface species with a single dangling bond

Atomically Precise Placement of Single Dopants in Si

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About