Metal-assisted chemical etching (MACE) is a flexible technique for texturing the surface of semiconductors. In this work, we study the spatial variation of the etch profile, the effect of angular orientation relative to the crystallographic planes, and the effect of doping type. We employ gold in direct contact with germanium as the metal catalyst, and dilute hydrogen peroxide solution as the chemical etchant. With this catalyst-etchant combination, we observe inverse-MACE, where the area directly under gold is not etched, but the neighboring, exposed germanium experiences enhanced etching. This enhancement in etching decays exponentially with the lateral distance from the gold structure. An empirical formula for the gold-enhanced etching depth as a function of lateral distance from the edge of the gold film is extracted from the experimentally measured etch profiles. The lateral range of enhanced etching is approximately 10–20 μ m and is independent of etchant concentration. At length scales beyond a few microns, the etching enhancement is independent of the orientation with respect to the germanium crystallographic planes. The etch rate as a function of etchant concentration follows a power law with exponent smaller than 1. The observed etch rates and profiles are independent of whether the germanium substrate is n-type, p-type, or nearly intrinsic.
Hole spins in Ge quantum wells have shown success in both spintronic and quantum applications, thereby increasing the demand for high-quality material. We performed material analysis and device characterization of commercially grown shallow and undoped Ge/SiGe quantum well heterostructures on 8-in. (100) Si wafers. Material analysis reveals the high crystalline quality, sharp interfaces, and uniformity of the material. We demonstrate a high mobility (1.7 × 105 cm2 V–1 s–1) 2D hole gas in a device with a conduction threshold density of 9.2 × 1010 cm–2. We study the use of surface preparation as a tool to control barrier thickness, density, mobility, and interface trap density. We report interface trap densities of 6 × 1012 eV–1. Our results validate the material’s high quality and show that further investigation into improving device performance is needed. We conclude that surface preparations which include weak Ge etchants, such as dilute H2O2, can be used for postgrowth control of quantum well depth in Ge-rich SiGe while still providing a relatively smooth oxide–semiconductor interface. Our results show that interface state density is mostly independent of our surface preparations, thereby implying that a Si cap layer is not necessary for device performance. Transport in our devices is instead limited by the quantum well depth. Commercially sourced Ge/SiGe, such as studied here, will provide accessibility for future investigations.
We examine the DC and radio frequency (RF) response of superconducting transmission line resonators comprised of very thin NbTiN films, [Formula: see text] in thickness, in the high-temperature limit, where the photon energy is less than the thermal energy. The resonant frequencies of these superconducting resonators show a significant nonlinear response as a function of RF input power, which can approach a frequency shift of [Formula: see text] in a [Formula: see text] span in the thinnest film. The strong nonlinear response allows these very thin film resonators to serve as high kinetic inductance parametric amplifiers.
Hate, Mehdi H.; pour, pour; Cuozzo, Joseph J.; Kanter, Jesse K.; Strickland, William S.; Allemang, Chris R.; Lu, Tzu-Ming L.; Rossi, Enrico R.; Shabani, Javad S.
Indium arsenide (InAs) near surface quantum wells (QWs) are promising for the fabrication of semiconductor–superconductor heterostructures given that they allow for a strong hybridization between the two-dimensional states in the quantum well and the ones in the superconductor. In this work, we present results for InAs QWs in the quantum Hall regime placed in proximity of superconducting NbTiN. We observe a negative downstream resistance with a corresponding reduction of Hall (upstream) resistance, consistent with a very high Andreev conversion. Further, we analyze the experimental data using the Landauer-Büttiker formalism, generalized to allow for Andreev reflection processes. We attribute the high efficiency of Andreev conversion in our devices to the large transparency of the InAs/NbTiN interface and the consequent strong hybridization of the QH edge modes with the states in the superconductor.
We describe the use of a coplanar waveguide (CPW) whose slots are filled with a resistive film, a resistively loaded CPW (RLCPW), to measure two-dimensional electron systems (2DESs). The RLCPW applied to the sample hosting the 2DES provides a uniform metallic surface serving as a gate to control the areal charge density of the 2DES. As a demonstration of this technique, we present measurements on a Si metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor and a model that successfully converts microwave transmission coefficients into conductivity of a nearby 2DES capacitively coupled to the RLCPW. We also describe the process of fabricating the highly resistive metal film required for fabrication of the RLCPW.
Capacitance-voltage ( {C} - {V} ) characteristics and carrier transport properties of 2-D electron gases (2DEGs) in an undoped Si/SiGe heterostructure at {T}= {4} - {35} K are presented. Two capacitance plateaus due to density saturation of the 2DEG in the buried Si quantum well (QW) are observed and explained by a model of surface tunneling. The peak mobility at 4 K is 4.1 \times 10^{{5}} cm2/ \text{V}\cdot \text{s} and enhanced by a factor of 1.97 at an even lower carrier density compared to the saturated carrier density, which is attributed to the effect of remote carrier screening. At {T}\,\,=35 K, the mobility enhancement with a factor of 1.35 is still observed, which suggests the surface tunneling is still dominant.
Quantum diamond microscope (QDM) magnetic field imaging is an emerging interrogation and diagnostic technique for integrated circuits (ICs). To date, the ICs measured with a QDM have been either too complex for us to predict the expected magnetic fields and benchmark the QDM performance or too simple to be relevant to the IC community. In this paper, we establish a 555 timer IC as a "model system"to optimize QDM measurement implementation, benchmark performance, and assess IC device functionality. To validate the magnetic field images taken with a QDM, we use a spice electronic circuit simulator and finite-element analysis (FEA) to model the magnetic fields from the 555 die for two functional states. We compare the advantages and the results of three IC-diamond measurement methods, confirm that the measured and simulated magnetic images are consistent, identify the magnetic signatures of current paths within the device, and discuss using this model system to advance QDM magnetic imaging as an IC diagnostic tool.
Sanders, Stephen; Dowran, Mohammadjavad; Jain, Umang; Lu, Tzu-Ming L.; Marino, Alberto M.; Manjavacas, Alejandro
Periodic arrays of nanoholes perforated in metallic thin films interact strongly with light and produce large electromagnetic near-field enhancements in their vicinity. As a result, the optical response of these systems is very sensitive to changes in their dielectric environment, thus making them an exceptional platform for the development of compact optical sensors. Given that these systems already operate at the shot-noise limit when used as optical sensors, their sensing capabilities can be enhanced beyond this limit by probing them with quantum light, such as squeezed or entangled states. Motivated by this goal, here, we present a comparative theoretical analysis of the quantum enhanced sensing capabilities of metallic nanohole arrays with one and two holes per unit cell. Through a detailed investigation of their optical response, we find that the two-hole array supports resonances that are narrower and stronger than its one-hole counterpart, and therefore have a higher fundamental sensitivity limit as defined by the quantum Cramér-Rao bound. We validate the optical response of the analyzed arrays with experimental measurements of the reflectance of representative samples. The results of this work advance our understanding of the optical response of these systems and pave the way for developing sensing platforms capable of taking full advantage of the resources offered by quantum states of light.
We report low-temperature magneto-transport measurements of an undoped Si/SiGe asymmetric double quantum well heterostructure. The density in both layers is tuned independently utilizing top and bottom gates, allowing the investigation of quantum wells at both imbalanced and matched densities. Integer quantum Hall states at total filling factor ν T = 1 and ν T = 2 are observed in both density regimes, and the evolution of their excitation gaps is reported as a function of the density. The ν T = 1 gap evolution departs from the behavior generally observed for valley splitting in the single layer regime. Furthermore, by comparing the ν T = 2 gap to the single particle tunneling energy, Δ SAS, obtained from Schrödinger-Poisson (SP) simulations, evidence for the onset of spontaneous interlayer coherence is observed for a relative filling fraction imbalance smaller than ∼ 50 %.
The atomic precision advanced manufacturing (APAM) enabled vertical tunneling field effect transistor (TFET) presents a new opportunity in microelectronics thanks to the use of ultra-high doping and atomically abrupt doping profiles. We present modeling and assessment of the APAM TFET using TCAD Charon simulation. First, we show, through a combination of simulation and experiment, that we can achieve good control of the gated channel on top of a phosphorus layer made using APAM, an essential part of the APAM TFET. Then, we present simulation results of a preliminary APAM TFET that predict transistor-like current-voltage response despite low device performance caused by using large geometry dimensions. Future device simulations will be needed to optimize geometry and doping to guide device design for achieving superior device performance.
Downscaling of the silicon metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor technology is expected to reach a fundamental limit soon. A paradigm shift in computing is occurring. Spin field-effect transistors are considered a candidate architecture for next-generation microelectronics. Being able to leverage the existing infrastructure for silicon, a spin field-effect transistor technology based on group IV heterostructures will have unparalleled technical and economical advantages. For the same material platform reason, germanium hole quantum dots are also considered a competitive architecture for semiconductor-based quantum technology. In this project, we investigated several approaches to creating hole devices in germanium-based materials as well as injecting hole spins in such structures. We also explored the roles of hole injection in wet chemical etching of germanium. Our main results include the demonstration of germanium metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors operated at cryogenic temperatures, ohmic current-voltage characteristics in germanium/silicon-germanium heterostructures with ferromagnetic contacts at deep cryogenic temperatures and high magnetic fields, evaluation of the effects of surface preparation on carrier mobility in germanium/silicon- germanium heterostructures, and hole spin polarization through integrated permanent magnets. These results serve as essential components for fabricating next-generation germanium-based devices for microelectronics and quantum systems.
Hole spin qubits confined to lithographically - defined lateral quantum dots in Ge/SiGe heterostructures show great promise. On reason for this is the intrinsic spin - orbit coupling that allows all - electric control of the qubit. That same feature can be exploited as a coupling mechanism to coherently link spin qubits to a photon field in a superconducting resonator, which could, in principle, be used as a quantum bus to distribute quantum information. The work reported here advances the knowledge and technology required for such a demonstration. We discuss the device fabrication and characterization of different quantum dot designs and the demonstration of single hole occupation in multiple devices. Superconductor resonators fabricated using an outside vendor were found to have adequate performance and a path toward flip-chip integration with quantum devices is discussed. The results of an optical study exploring aspects of using implanted Ga as quantum memory in a Ge system are presented.
While it is likely practically a bad idea to shrink a transistor to the size of an atom, there is no arguing that it would be fantastic to have atomic-scale control over every aspect of a transistor – a kind of crystal ball to understand and evaluate new ideas. This project showed that it was possible to take a niche technique used to place dopants in silicon with atomic precision and apply it broadly to study opportunities and limitations in microelectronics. In addition, it laid the foundation to attaining atomic-scale control in semiconductor manufacturing more broadly.
Tai, Chia T.; Chiu, Po Y.; Liu, Chia Y.; Kao, Hsiang S.; Harris, C.T.; Lu, Tzu-Ming L.; Hsieh, Chi T.; Chang, Shu W.; Li, Jiun Y.
A demonstration of 2D hole gases in GeSn/Ge heterostructures with a mobility as high as 20 000 cm2 V−1 s−1 is given. Both the Shubnikov–de Haas oscillations and integer quantum Hall effect are observed, indicating high sample quality. The Rashba spin-orbit coupling (SOC) is investigated via magneto-transport. Further, a transition from weak localization to weak anti-localization is observed, which shows the tunability of the SOC strength by gating. The magneto-transport data are fitted to the Hikami–Larkin–Nagaoka formula. The phase-coherence and spin-relaxation times, as well as spin-splitting energy and Rashba coefficient of the k-cubic term, are extracted. The analysis reveals that the effects of strain and confinement potential at a high fraction of Sn suppress the Rashba SOC caused by the GeSn/Ge heterostructures.
Hatefipour, Mehdi H.; Mayer, William M.; Goss, Noah G.; Strickland, William S.; Yuan, Joseph Y.; Wickramasinghe, Kaushini S.;
Sardashti, Kasra &.; Lu, Tzu-Ming L.; Shabani, Javad S.
The attachment of dopant precursor molecules to depassivated areas of hydrogen-terminated silicon templated with a scanning tunneling microscope (STM) has been used to create electronic devices with subnanometer precision, typically for quantum physics experiments. This process, which we call atomic precision advanced manufacturing (APAM), dopes silicon beyond the solid-solubility limit and produces electrical and optical characteristics that may also be useful for microelectronic and plasmonic applications. However, scanned probe lithography lacks the throughput required to develop more sophisticated applications. Here, we demonstrate and characterize an APAM device workflow where scanned probe lithography of the atomic layer resist has been replaced by photolithography. An ultraviolet laser is shown to locally and controllably heat silicon above the temperature required for hydrogen depassivation on a nanosecond timescale, a process resistant to under- and overexposure. STM images indicate a narrow range of energy density where the surface is both depassivated and undamaged. Modeling that accounts for photothermal heating and the subsequent hydrogen desorption kinetics suggests that the silicon surface temperatures reached in our patterning process exceed those required for hydrogen removal in temperature-programmed desorption experiments. A phosphorus-doped van der Pauw structure made by sequentially photodepassivating a predefined area and then exposing it to phosphine is found to have a similar mobility and higher carrier density compared with devices patterned by STM. Lastly, it is also demonstrated that photodepassivation and precursor exposure steps may be performed concomitantly, a potential route to enabling APAM outside of ultrahigh vacuum.
Chiu, P.Y.; Lidsky, D.; Chuang, Y.; Su, Y.H.; Li, J.Y.; Harris, C.T.; Lu, Tzu-Ming L.
Modulation doping is a commonly adopted technique to create two-dimensional (2D) electrons or holes in semiconductor heterostructures. One constraint, however, is that the intentional dopants required for modulation doping are controlled and incorporated during the growth of heterostructures. Using undoped strained germanium quantum wells as the model material system, we show, in this work, that modulation doping can be achieved post-growth of heterostructures by ion implantation and dopant-activation anneals. The carrier density is controlled ex situ by varying the ion fluence and implant energy, and an empirical calibration curve is obtained. While the mobility of the resulting 2D holes is lower than that in undoped heterostructure field-effect transistors built using the same material, the achievable carrier density is significantly higher. Potential applications of this modulation-doping technique are discussed.
The study of thermal effects, both classical and quantum, at cryogenic temperatures requires the use of on-chip, local, high-sensitivity thermometry. Carbon-platinum composites fabricated using focused ion beam (FIB) assisted deposition form a granular structure which is shown in this study to be uniquely suited for this application. Carbon-platinum thermometers deposited using a 24 pA ion beam current have high sensitivities below 1 K, comparable to the best cryogenic thermometers. In addition, these thermometers can be accurately placed to within 10s of nanometers on the chip using a mask-free process. They also have a weak magnetic field dependence, < 3% change in resistance with applied magnetic fields from 0 to 8 T. Finally, these thermometers are integrable into a variety of nanoscale devices due to the existing wide spread use of FIB.
One big challenge of the emerging atomic precision advanced manufacturing (APAM) technology for microelectronics application is to realize APAM devices that operate at room temperature (RT). We demonstrate that semiclassical technology computer aided design (TCAD) device simulation tool can be employed to understand current leakage and improve APAM device design for RT operation. To establish the applicability of semiclassical simulation, we first show that a semiclassical impurity scattering model with the Fermi-Dirac statistics can explain the very low mobility in APAM devices quite well; we also show semiclassical TCAD reproduces measured sheet resistances when proper mobility values are used. We then apply semiclassical TCAD to simulate current leakage in realistic APAM wires. With insights from modeling, we were able to improve device design, fabricate Hall bars, and demonstrate RT operation for the very first time.
Hydrogen lithography has been used to template phosphine-based surface chemistry to fabricate atomic-scale devices, a process we abbreviate as atomic precision advanced manufacturing (APAM). Here, we use mid-infrared variable angle spectroscopic ellipsometry (IR-VASE) to characterize single-nanometer thickness phosphorus dopant layers (δ-layers) in silicon made using APAM compatible processes. A large Drude response is directly attributable to the δ-layer and can be used for nondestructive monitoring of the condition of the APAM layer when integrating additional processing steps. The carrier density and mobility extracted from our room temperature IR-VASE measurements are consistent with cryogenic magneto-transport measurements, showing that APAM δ-layers function at room temperature. Finally, the permittivity extracted from these measurements shows that the doping in the APAM δ-layers is so large that their low-frequency in-plane response is reminiscent of a silicide. However, there is no indication of a plasma resonance, likely due to reduced dimensionality and/or low scattering lifetime.
Atomic precision advanced manufacturing (APAM) offers creation of donor devices in an atomically thin layer doped beyond the solid solubility limit, enabling unique device physics. This presents an opportunity to use APAM as a pathfinding platform to investigate digital electronics at the atomic limit. Scaling to smaller transistors is increasingly difficult and expensive, necessitating the investigation of alternative fabrication paths that extend to the atomic scale. APAM donor devices can be created using a scanning tunneling microscope (STM). However, these devices are not currently compatible with industry standard fabrication processes. There exists a tradeoff between low thermal budget (LT) processes to limit dopant diffusion and high thermal budget (HT) processes to grow defect-free layers of epitaxial Si and gate oxide. To this end, we have developed an LT epitaxial Si cap and LT deposited Al2O3 gate oxide integrated with an atomically precise single-electron transistor (SET) that we use as an electrometer to characterize the quality of the gate stack. The surface-gated SET exhibits the expected Coulomb blockade behavior. However, the gate’s leverage over the SET is limited by defects in the layers above the SET, including interfaces between the Si and oxide, and structural and chemical defects in the Si cap. We propose a more sophisticated gate stack and process flow that is predicted to improve performance in future atomic precision devices.
We investigate the thermoelectric transport properties of the half-filled lowest Landau level v=1/2 in a gated two-dimensional hole system in a strained Ge/SiGe heterostructure. The electron-diffusion dominated regime is achieved below 600 mK, where the diffusion thermopower Sxxd at v=1/2 shows a linear temperature dependence. In contrast, the diffusion-dominated Nernst signal Sxyd of v=1/2 is found to approach zero, which is independent of the measurement configuration (sweeping magnetic field at a fixed hole density or sweeping the density by a gate at a fixed magnetic field).
Hatefipour, Mehdi H.; Hatefipour, Mehdi H.; Mayer, William M.; Goss, Noah G.; Strickland, William S.; Yuan, Joseph Y.; Wickramasinghe, Kaushini S.; Lu, Tzu-Ming L.; Shabani, Javad S.
The attachment of dopant precursor molecules to depassivated areas of hydrogen-terminated silicon templated with a scanning tunneling microscope (STM) has been used to create electronic devices with sub-nanometer precision, typically for quantum physics demonstrations, and to dope silicon past the solid-solubility limit, with potential applications in microelectronics and plasmonics. However, this process, which we call atomic precision advanced manufacturing (APAM), currently lacks the throughput required to develop sophisticated applications because there is no proven scalable hydrogen lithography pathway. Here, we demonstrate and characterize an APAM device workflow where STM lithography has been replaced with photolithography. An ultraviolet laser is shown to locally heat silicon controllably above the temperature required for hydrogen depassivation. STM images indicate a narrow range of laser energy density where hydrogen has been depassivated, and the surface remains well-ordered. A model for photothermal heating of silicon predicts a local temperature which is consistent with atomic-scale STM images of the photo-patterned regions. Finally, a simple device made by exposing photo-depassivated silicon to phosphine is found to have a carrier density and mobility similar to that produced by similar devices patterned by STM.
Quantum materials have long promised to revolutionize everything from energy transmission (high temperature superconductors) to both quantum and classical information systems (topological materials). However, their discovery and application has proceeded in an Edisonian fashion due to both an incomplete theoretical understanding and the difficulty of growing and purifying new materials. This project leverages Sandia's unique atomic precision advanced manufacturing (APAM) capability to design small-scale tunable arrays (designer materials) made of donors in silicon. Their low-energy electronic behavior can mimic quantum materials, and can be tuned by changing the fabrication parameters for the array, thereby enabling the discovery of materials systems which can't yet be synthesized. In this report, we detail three key advances we have made towards development of designer quantum materials. First are advances both in APAM technique and underlying mechanisms required to realize high-yielding donor arrays. Second is the first-ever observation of distinct phases in this material system, manifest in disordered 2D sheets of donors. Finally are advances in modeling the electronic structure of donor clusters and regular structures incorporating them, critical to understanding whether an array is expected to show interesting physics. Combined, these establish the baseline knowledge required to manifest the strongly-correlated phases of the Mott-Hubbard model in donor arrays, the first step to deploying APAM donor arrays as analogues of quantum materials.
We present the fabrication of nano-magnet arrays, comprised of two sets of interleaving SmCo5 and Co nano-magnets, and the subsequent development and implementation of a protocol to program the array to create a one-dimensional rotating magnetic field. We designed the array based on the microstructural and magnetic properties of SmCo5 films annealed under different conditions, also presented here. Leveraging the extremely high contrast in coercivity between SmCo5 and Co, we applied a sequence of external magnetic fields to program the nano-magnet arrays into a configuration with alternating polarization, which based on simulations creates a rotating magnetic field in the vicinity of nano-magnets. Our proof-of-concept demonstration shows that complex, nanoscale magnetic fields can be synthesized through coercivity contrast of constituent magnetic materials and carefully designed sequences of programming magnetic fields.
Su, Yi H.; Chou, Kuan Y.; Chuang, Yen; Lu, Tzu-Ming L.; Li, Jiun Y.
We investigate the effects of surface tunneling on electrostatics and transport properties of two-dimensional electron gases (2DEGs) in undoped Si/SiGe heterostructures with different 2DEG depths. By varying the gate voltage, four stages of density-mobility dependence are identified with two density saturation regimes observed, which confirms that the system transitions between equilibrium and nonequilibrium. Mobility is enhanced with an increasing density at low biases and, counterintuitively, with a decreasing density at high biases as well. The density saturation and mobility enhancement can be semiquantitatively explained by a surface tunneling model in combination with a bilayer screening theory.
Even as today's most prominent spin-based qubit technologies are maturing in terms of capability and sophistication, there is growing interest in exploring alternate material platforms that may provide advantages, such as enhanced qubit control, longer coherence times, and improved extensibility. Recent advances in heterostructure material growth have opened new possibilities for employing hole spins in semiconductors for qubit applications. Undoped, strained Ge/SiGe quantum wells are promising candidate hosts for hole spin-based qubits due to their low disorder, large intrinsic spin-orbit coupling strength, and absence of valley states. Here, we use a simple one-layer gated device structure to demonstrate both a single quantum dot as well as coupling between two adjacent quantum dots. The hole effective mass in these undoped structures, m∗ ∼ 0.08 m 0, is significantly lower than for electrons in Si/SiGe, pointing to the possibility of enhanced tunnel couplings in quantum dots and favorable qubit-qubit interactions in an industry-compatible semiconductor platform.
In the field of semiconductor quantum dot spin qubits, there is growing interest in leveraging the unique properties of hole-carrier systems and their intrinsically strong spin-orbit coupling to engineer novel qubits. Recent advances in semiconductor heterostructure growth have made available high quality, undoped Ge/SiGe quantum wells, consisting of a pure strained Ge layer flanked by Ge-rich SiGe layers above and below. These quantum wells feature heavy hole carriers and a cubic Rashba-type spin-orbit interaction. Here, we describe progress toward realizing spin qubits in this platform, including development of multi-metal-layer gated device architectures, device tuning protocols, and charge-sensing capabilities. Iterative improvement of a three-layer metal gate architecture has significantly enhanced device performance over that achieved using an earlier single-layer gate design. We discuss ongoing, simulation-informed work to fine-tune the device geometry, as well as efforts toward a single-spin qubit demonstration.
Gate-controllable spin-orbit coupling is often one requisite for spintronic devices. For practical spin field-effect transistors, another essential requirement is ballistic spin transport, where the spin precession length is shorter than the mean free path such that the gate-controlled spin precession is not randomized by disorder. In this letter, we report the observation of a gate-induced crossover from weak localization to weak anti-localization in the magneto-resistance of a high-mobility two-dimensional hole gas in a strained germanium quantum well. From the magneto-resistance, we extract the phase-coherence time, spin-orbit precession time, spin-orbit energy splitting, and cubic Rashba coefficient over a wide density range. The mobility and the mean free path increase with increasing hole density, while the spin precession length decreases due to increasingly stronger spin-orbit coupling. As the density becomes larger than ∼6 × 1011 cm-2, the spin precession length becomes shorter than the mean free path, and the system enters the ballistic spin transport regime. We also report here the numerical methods and code developed for calculating the magneto-resistance in the ballistic regime, where the commonly used HLN and ILP models for analyzing weak localization and anti-localization are not valid. These results pave the way toward silicon-compatible spintronic devices.
As a first step to porting scanning tunneling microscopy methods of atomic-precision fabrication to a strained-Si/SiGe platform, we demonstrate post-growth P atomic-layer doping of SiGe heterostructures. To preserve the substrate structure and elastic state, we use a T≤800 ° C process to prepare clean Si0.86Ge0.14 surfaces suitable for atomic-precision fabrication. P-saturated atomic-layer doping is incorporated and capped with epitaxial Si under a thermal budget compatible with atomic-precision fabrication. Hall measurements at T=0.3 K show that the doped heterostructure has R□=570±30Ω, yielding an electron density ne=2.1±0.1×1014cm-2 and mobility μe=52±3cm2V-1s-1, similar to saturated atomic-layer doping in pure Si and Ge. The magnitude of μe and the complete absence of Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations in magnetotransport measurements indicate that electrons are overwhelmingly localized in the donor layer, and not within a nearby buried Si well. This conclusion is supported by self-consistent Schrödinger-Poisson calculations that predict electron occupation primarily in the donor layer.
Here, we demonstrate coupled triple dot operation and charge sensing capability for the recently introduced quantum dot technology employing undoped Si/Si0.8Ge0.2 hetero-structures which also incorporate a single metal-gate layer to simplify fabrication. Si/SiGe hetero-structures with a Ge concentration of 20% rather than the more usual 30% typically encountered offer higher electron mobility. The devices consist of two in-plane parallel electron channels that host a double dot in one channel and a single dot in the other channel. In a device where the channels are sufficiently close a triple dot in a triangular configuration is induced leading to regions in the charge stability diagram where three charge-addition lines of different slope approach each other and anti-cross. In a device where the channels are further apart, the single dot charge-senses the double dot with relative change of ~2% in the sensor current.
High-mobility two-dimensional (2D) holes residing in a Ge quantum well are a new electronic system with potentials in quantum computing and spintronics. Since for any electronic material, the effective mass and the g factor are two fundamental material parameters that determine the material response to electric and magnetic fields, measuring these two parameters in this material system is thus an important task that needs to be completed urgently. Because of the quantum confinement in the crystal growth direction (z), the biaxial strain of epitaxial Ge on SiGe, and the valance band nature, both the effective mass and the g factor can show very strong anisotropy. In particular, the in-plane g factor (gip) can be vanishingly small while the perpendicular g factor (gz) can be much larger than 2. Here we report the measurement of gip at very low hole densities using in-plane magneto-resistance measurement performed at the NHMFL.
Quantum Hall ferromagnetic transitions are typically achieved by increasing the Zeeman energy through in-situ sample rotation, while transitions in systems with pseudo-spin indices can be induced by gate control. We report here a gate-controlled quantum Hall ferromagnetic transition between two real spin states in a conventional two-dimensional system without any in-plane magnetic field. We show that the ratio of the Zeeman splitting to the cyclotron gap in a Ge two-dimensional hole system increases with decreasing density owing to inter-carrier interactions. Below a critical density of ~2.4 × 1010 cm-2, this ratio grows greater than 1, resulting in a ferromagnetic ground state at filling factor ν = 2. At the critical density, a resistance peak due to the formation of microscopic domains of opposite spin orientations is observed. Such gate-controlled spin-polarizations in the quantum Hall regime opens the door to realizing Majorana modes using two-dimensional systems in conventional, low-spin-orbit-coupling semiconductors.
We report the measurements of the effective g factor of low-density two-dimensional holes in a Ge quantum well. Using the temperature dependence of the Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations, we extract the effective g factor in a magnetic field perpendicular to the sample surface. Very large values of the effective g factor, ranging from ∼13 to ∼28, are observed in the density range of 1.4×1010 cm-2- 1.4×1011 cm-2. When the magnetic field is oriented parallel to the sample surface, the effective g factor is obtained from a protrusion in the magneto-resistance data that signify full spin polarization. In the latter orientation, a small effective g factor, ∼1.3-1.4, is measured in the density range of 1.5×1010 cm-2- 2×1010 cm-2. This very strong anisotropy is consistent with theoretical predictions and previous measurements in other 2D hole systems, such as InGaAs and GaSb.
The physical properties of two-dimensional (2D) electrons have been a subject of interest for a long time. Yet after many years of research, the ground states of a 2D electron system (2DES) in the presence of disorder and electron-electron interaction, a realistic situation in experiments, remain an open question. Recent observations of a downturn in conductivity at low temperatures in a Si/SiGe quantum well [1], Si-MOSFETs [2,3], and 2D holes in GaAs [4-6] seem to suggest that disorder plays an important role in the so-called 2D metal-insulator transition (MIT) and at T → 0 2DES may eventually become insulating. In this experiment, we focus on the downturn behavior as a function of spin polarization, which is varied by an in-plane magnetic field.
Enhancement-mode Si/SiGe electron quantum dots have been pursued extensively by many groups for their potential in quantum computing. Most of the reported dot designs utilize multiple metal-gate layers and use Si/SiGe heterostructures with Ge concentration close to 30%. Here, we report the fabrication and low-temperature characterization of quantum dots in the Si/Si0.8Ge0.2 heterostructures using only one metal-gate layer. We find that the threshold voltage of a channel narrower than 1 μm increases as the width decreases. The higher threshold can be attributed to the combination of quantum confinement and disorder. We also find that the lower Ge ratio used here leads to a narrower operational gate bias range. The higher threshold combined with the limited gate bias range constrains the device design of lithographic quantum dots. We incorporate such considerations in our device design and demonstrate a quantum dot that can be tuned from a single dot to a double dot. The device uses only a single metal-gate layer, greatly simplifying device design and fabrication.
We report the magneto-transport, scattering mechanisms, and effective mass analysis of an ultra-low density two-dimensional hole gas capacitively induced in an undoped strained Ge/Si0.2Ge0.8 heterostructure. This fabrication technique allows hole densities as low as p ∼ 1.1 × 1010cm-2 to be achieved, more than one order of magnitude lower than previously reported in doped Ge/SiGe heterostructures. The power-law exponent of the electron mobility versus density curve, μ ∞ nα, is found to be α ∼ 0.29 over most of the density range, implying that background impurity scattering is the dominant scattering mechanism at intermediate densities in such devices. A charge migration model is used to explain the mobility decrease at the highest achievable densities. The hole effective mass is deduced from the temperature dependence of Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations. At p ∼ 1.0 × 1011cm-2, the effective mass m∗ is ∼0.105 m0, which is significantly larger than masses obtained from modulation-doped Ge/SiGe two-dimensional hole gases.
In the presence of a lateral periodic potential modulation, two-dimensional electrons may exhibit interesting phenomena, such as a graphene-like energy-momentum dispersion, Bloch oscillations, or the Hofstadter butterfly band structure. To create a sufficiently strong potential modulation using conventional semiconductor heterostructures, aggressive device processing is often required, unfortunately resulting in strong disorder that masks the sought-after effects. Here, we report a novel fabrication process flow for imposing a strong lateral potential modulation onto a capacitively induced two-dimensional electron system, while preserving the host material quality. Using this process flow, the electron density in a patterned Si/SiGe heterostructure can be tuned over a wide range, from 4.4 × 1010cm-2 to 1.8 × 1011cm-2, with a peak mobility of 6.4 × 105cm2/V·s. The wide density tunability and high electron mobility allow us to observe sequential emergence of commensurability oscillations as the density, the mobility, and in turn the mean free path, increase. Magnetic-field-periodic quantum oscillations associated with various closed orbits also emerge sequentially with increasing density. We show that, from the density dependence of the quantum oscillations, one can directly extract the steepness of the imposed superlattice potential. This result is then compared to a conventional lateral superlattice model potential.
We report non-linear electronic transport measurement of Al/Si-doped n-type InN nanowire/Al junctions performed at T = 0.3 K, below the superconducting transition temperature of the Al electrodes. The proximity effect is observed in these devices through a strong dip in resistance at zero bias. In addition to the resistance dip at zero bias, several resistance peaks can be identified at bias voltages above the superconducting gap of the electrodes, while no resistance dip is observed at the superconducting gap. The resistance peaks disappear as the Al electrodes turn normal beyond the critical magnetic field except one which remains visible at fields several times higher than critical magnetic field. An unexpected non-monotonic magnetic field dependence of the peak position is observed. We discuss the physical origin of these observations and propose that the resistance peaks could be the McMillan-Rowell oscillations arising from different closed paths localized near different regions of the junctions.
We report the magneto-transport study and scattering mechanism analysis of a series of increasingly shallow Si/SiGe quantum wells with depth ranging from ∼ 100 nm to ∼ 10 nm away from the heterostructure surface. The peak mobility increases with depth, suggesting that charge centers near the oxide/semiconductor interface are the dominant scattering source. The power-law exponent of the electron mobility versus density curve, μ nα, is extracted as a function of the depth of the Si quantum well. At intermediate densities, the power-law dependence is characterized by α ∼ 2.3. At the highest achievable densities in the quantum wells buried at intermediate depth, an exponent α ∼ 5 is observed. We propose and show by simulations that this increase in the mobility dependence on the density can be explained by a non-equilibrium model where trapped electrons smooth out the potential landscape seen by the two-dimensional electron gas.
There is strong interest in minimizing the volume of lasers to enable ultracompact, low-power, coherent light sources. Nanowires represent an ideal candidate for such nanolasers as stand-alone optical cavities and gain media, and optically pumped nanowire lasing has been demonstrated in several semiconductor systems. Electrically injected nanowire lasers are needed to realize actual working devices but have been elusive due to limitations of current methods to address the requirement for nanowire device heterostructures with high material quality, controlled doping and geometry, low optical loss, and efficient carrier injection. In this project we proposed to demonstrate electrically injected single nanowire lasers emitting in the important UV to visible wavelengths. Our approach to simultaneously address these challenges is based on high quality III-nitride nanowire device heterostructures with precisely controlled geometries and strong gain and mode confinement to minimize lasing thresholds, enabled by a unique top-down nanowire fabrication technique.
We report the design, the fabrication, and the magneto-transport study of an electron bilayer system embedded in an undoped Si/SiGe double-quantum-well heterostructure. Combined Hall densities (nHall) ranging from 2.6-×-1010-cm-2 to 2.7-×-1011-cm-2 were achieved, yielding a maximal combined Hall mobility (μHall) of 7.7-×-105-cm2/(V · s) at the highest density. Simultaneous electron population of both quantum wells is clearly observed through a Hall mobility drop as the Hall density is increased to nHall > 3.3-×-1010-cm-2, consistent with Schrödinger-Poisson simulations. The integer and fractional quantum Hall effects are observed in the device, and single-layer behavior is observed when both layers have comparable densities, either due to spontaneous interlayer coherence or to the symmetric-antisymmetric gap.
High quality Si/SiGe quantum well samples have provided an ideal platform to study the electron-electron (ee) interactions in two-dimensional electron systems (2DES). Currently, the sample mobility has surpassed 106 cm2/Vs and very low carrier densities are realized, which are crucial to reveal strong e-e interactions
We report Pauli blockade in a multielectron silicon metal–oxide–semiconductor double quantum dot with an integrated charge sensor. The current is rectified up to a blockade energy of 0.18 ± 0.03 meV. The blockade energy is analogous to singlet–triplet splitting in a two electron double quantum dot. Built-in imbalances of tunnel rates in the MOS DQD obfuscate some edges of the bias triangles. A method to extract the bias triangles is described, and a numeric rate-equation simulation is used to understand the effect of tunneling imbalances and finite temperature on charge stability (honeycomb) diagram, in particular the identification of missing and shifting edges. A bound on relaxation time of the triplet-like state is also obtained from this measurement.