NIRT: Atom-Scale Silicon Integrated Circuits for Quantum Computation

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Proposal No : 0404208PI: Shen, Tsung-ChengTitle: Atom-Scale Silicon Integrated Circuits for Quantum ComputationAbstract: As the dimensions of each electronic device decrease and the density of devices increases, energy efficiency is one of the mounting challenges to extend Moore's law beyond 22 nm technology node. One way to address this issue is to employ single electron transistors (SETs) to perform logic operations. However, the sensitivity of the SETs also makes them susceptible to any charge defect nearby. As a result, it is very difficult to integrate SETs with the rest of the conventional silicon devices. In this project, we plan to fabricate atom-scale epitaxial SETs by patterning two-dimensional phosphorous dopant atoms inside a silicon crystal. Since the tunneling gap of the SET is of crystalline silicon, charge and noise problems plaguing the conventional metal-based SET could be eliminated. In addition, quantum computation algorithms have proven to be orders of magnitude faster than the classical information processing, at least in a few cases. The SETs are essential to read out the information stored in quantum bits (qbit). The ultimate research goal of this project is to establish all the necessary components, phosphorous donor arrays, integrated SET readout, gates scaled in size and frequency, to demonstrate a prototype quantum information process. The educational goal of this project is to provide an opportunity for graduate and undergraduate students and post docs, to work with top scientists and use the best research tools and expertise assembled from across the country. Their educational opportunities will range from atom-scale materials and device physics to world-class lithography, gate dielectrics, and nanoprocessing.