Room-Temperature Single Atom Silicon Quantum Electronics

室温单原子硅量子电子学

• 批准号: EP/V030035/1
• 负责人: Zahid Durrani
• 金额: $ 70.81万
• 依托单位: Imperial College London
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2021
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2021 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=EP%2FV030035%2F1
• 关键词: Room; Temperature; Single; Atom; Silicon; Room; Temperature; Single; Atom; Silicon

In recent years, it has become possible to define semiconductor quantum electronic switches in silicon using individual impurity atoms within a semiconductor crystal. This reduces the switching 'core' of an electronic device to the ultimate, atomic scale limit. Furthermore, electronic charge in the discrete, quantum states of the impurity atom may be controlled at the level of individual electrons, also reducing the size of information 'bits' from many thousands to a few, or even single electrons. 'Single-atom quantum dot transistors' (SA-QDTs) such as these hold great promise for a wide range of applications, including ultra-low power highly scaled nanoelectronics, single charge/molecule sensors, metrological standards and quantum computation. Achieving wide-scale, general application of SA-QDTs, e.g. in nanoelectronics or ultra-high sensitivity sensing, requires both room-temperature (RT) operation and large-scale manufacturability. However, at present the potential of these devices has remained unfulfilled, due to problems such as electrical operation at only cryogenic temperatures, the use of materials lacking large scale device manufacturability, or a lack of compatibility with current silicon electronic circuits technology, etc. Recently, we have demonstrated RT operation in silicon SA-QDTs based on phosphorus (P) dopant atoms embedded in ~10 nm scale Si-SiO2-Si point-contacts, fabricated by electron beam lithography. Both single and double, coupled, QD RT operation have now been demonstrated. The fabrication of these devices in silicon is completely compatible with conventional large-scale, Si electronic circuit nanofabrication technology. In complementary work to the above, we have also demonstrated methods to locate impurity atoms at precise atomic scales using advanced scanning probe lithographic (SPL) techniques.The central aim of this project is to develop useful RT SA-QDT devices, circuits and sensors in silicon. In doing this we propose to move from the present level of individual devices to 'proof-of-principle' RT circuits with ~10 devices. We will also develop single-molecule sensors based on SA-QDTs, exploiting the sensitivity of these devices to changes in surface charge at the level of <1e. We propose to build memory cell, logic gate and single-molecule sensor circuits, using both electron-beam and scanning probe lithographic methods. We will also extend our fabrication methods for atomically precise nanofabrication using hydrogen depassivation SPL, to establish structural precision at this scale for the first time in devices operating at RT. Simulation methods, from the individual device to circuit level, will be developed to establish design rules for single-atom electronic systems. Successful completion of this project will realise the potential of single-atom devices for quantum nanoelectronic circuits and single-molecule sensors, opening the way for a future large-scale atomic electronics technology.

近年来，使用半导体晶体中的个体杂质原子来定义硅中的半导体量子电子开关。这将电子设备的开关“核心”降低到了最终的原子量表极限。此外，在离散的，杂质原子的量子状态中的电子电荷可以在单个电子的水平上控制，也可以将信息“位”的大小从数千个甚至几个电子中减少到几个，甚至单个电子。 “单原子量子点晶体管”（SA-QDT）（例如SA-QDT）对广泛的应用有很大的希望，包括超低功率高度缩放的纳米电子学，单电荷/分子传感器，计量标准和量子计算。实现大规模的SA-QDT的一般应用，例如在纳米电子学或超高灵敏度感应中，需要室温（RT）操作和大规模的制造性。但是，目前，由于仅在低温温度下进行电气操作，缺乏大规模设备的材料的使用，或与当前硅电子电路技术技术缺乏兼容性等问题，这些设备的潜力仍然无法实现。点接触，由电子束光刻制造。现在已经证明了单一和双重QD RT操作。这些设备在硅中的制造与常规的大规模SI电子电路纳米化技术完全兼容。在上述互补工作中，我们还展示了使用先进的探针光刻（SPL）技术以精确的原子尺度定位杂质原子的方法。该项目的主要目的是开发有用的RT SA-QDT设备，电路和硅的传感器。在这样做的过程中，我们建议从目前的单个设备级别转移到具有约10个设备的“原理证明” RT电路。我们还将基于SA-QDT开发单分子传感器，从而利用这些设备对<1e水平的表面电荷变化的敏感性。我们建议使用电子梁和扫描探针光刻方法来构建存储单元，逻辑门和单分子传感器电路。我们还将使用氢Deposivation SPL扩展我们的制造方法，用于原子上精确的纳米化，以在RT运行的设备中首次在此规模上建立结构性精度。将开发从单个设备到电路级别的仿真方法，以建立单原子电子系统的设计规则。该项目的成功完成将实现单原子设备用于量子纳米电路和单分子传感器的潜力，从而为未来的大规模原子电子技术开辟了道路。