Autori: D. Moraru, M. Ligowski, J. C. Tarido, S. Miki, R. Nakamura, K. Yokoi, T. Mizuno, and M. Tabe

Editorial: Journal of Automation, Mobile Robotics & Intelligent Systems, 3 (4), p.52-54, 2009.

Rezumat:

Single charge manipulation for useful electronic functionalities has become an exciting and fast-paced direction
of research in recent years. In structures with dimensions below about 100 nm, the physics governing the device operation turn out to be strikingly different than in the case of
larger devices. The presence of even a single charge may completely suppress current flow due to the basic electron-electron repulsion (so called Coulomb blockade effect).
It is even more exciting to control this effect at the level of single-electron/single-atom interaction. The atomic entity can be one donor present in silicon lattice with a Coulombic
potential well. In principle, it can accommodate basically a single electron. We study the electrical behavior of nanoscale-channel silicon-on-insulator field-effect transistors
(SOI-FETs) that contain a discrete arrangement of donors.
The donors can be utilized as “stepping stones” for the transfer of single charges. This ability opens the doors
to a rich world of applications based on the simple interplay of single charges and single atoms, while still utilizing mostly conventional and well established fabrication techniques.
In this work, we distinguish the effects of single-electron transport mediated by one or few dopants only. Furthermore, we show how the single-electron/single-donor interaction can be tuned by using the external biases. We demonstrate then by simulation and experiment the feasibility of single-electron/bit transfer operation (single-electron turnstile).

Cuvinte cheie: single dopant, silicon nanowire, single-electron transport, single-electron transfer

URL: http://www.jamris.org