Single rare-earth ions as atomic-scale probes in ultra-scaled transistors

Abstract

Continued dimensional scaling of semiconductor devices has driven information technology into vastly diverse applications. As the size of devices approaches fundamental limits, metrology techniques with nanometre resolution and three-dimensional (3D) capabilities are desired for device optimisation. For example, the performance of an ultra-scaled transistor can be strongly influenced by the local electric field and strain. Here we study the spectral response of single erbium ions to applied electric field and strain in a silicon ultra-scaled transistor. Stark shifts induced by both the overall electric field and the local charge environment are observed. Further, changes in strain smaller than $3\times 10^{-6}$ are detected, which is around two orders of magnitude more sensitive than the standard techniques used in the semiconductor industry. These results open new possibilities for non-destructive 3D mapping of the local strain and electric field in the channel of ultra-scaled transistors, using the single erbium ions as ultra-sensitive atomic probes.

arXiv comment10+5 pages, 4+3 figures

References in corpus (12)

• Photonic quantum technologies
• Sensing electric fields using single diamond spins
• Silicon Quantum Electronics
• Electronic properties and metrology of the diamond NV- center under pressure
• Isolating and enhancing the emission of single erbium ions using a silicon nanophotonic cavity
• Coherence time of over a second in a telecom-compatible quantum memory storage material
• Sub-nanometer resolution in three-dimensional magnetic-resonance imaging of individual dark spins
• Optical addressing of an individual erbium ion in silicon
• Spatial mapping of band bending in semiconductor devices using in-situ quantum sensors
• Sub-threshold channels at the edges of nanoscale triple-gate silicon transistors
• Full stress tensor measurement using colour centres in diamond
• Controlled Stark shifts in Er${}^{3+}$-doped crystalline and amorphous waveguides for quantum state storage

Cited by in corpus (14)

• Semiconductor Qubits In Practice
• Single-molecule Scale Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy using Nitrogen-Vacancy Centers in Diamond
• Spatial mapping of band bending in semiconductor devices using in-situ quantum sensors
• Erbium dopants in silicon nanophotonic waveguides
• High-fidelity single-shot readout of single electron spin in diamond with spin-to-charge conversion
• Optically Enhanced Electric Field Sensing Using Nitrogen-Vacancy Ensembles
• Narrow optical transitions in erbium-implanted silicon waveguides
• Nanoscale electrometry based on a magnetic-field-resistant spin sensor
• Universal quantum computing using electro-nuclear wavefunctions of rare-earth ions
• The Zeeman and hyperfine interactions of a single ${}^{167}E{r}^{3+}$ ion in Si
• High resolution spectroscopy of individual erbium ions in strong magnetic fields
• Optically tunable photoluminescence and upconversion lasing on a chip
• Spatially-resolved decoherence of donor spins in silicon strained by a metallic electrode
• Spectral broadening of a single Er${}^{3+}$ ion in a Si nano-transistor