Quantum Spin Lattices for Magnetic Silicon Devices

这项研究的目标是开发和表征新型硅器件，这些器件应该随意表现出各种磁性行为-即使由非磁性硅组成。最近的理论结果表明，在精细图案化的二维晶格上，电子被限制在交叉点;在更高的浓度下，额外的电子也占据间隙位置。多体量子理论预测，在这些不同的浓度下，铁磁、反铁磁和其他几种相将由电子-电子相互作用触发。应该可以仅通过改变控制电压来在这些电稳定相之间“切换”。这种可控的“自旋晶格”在自旋电子器件中应该是有用的。该方法是将晶格蚀刻到硅金属氧化物半导体晶体管的栅电极中。理论和数值计算的努力将评估其新颖的电和磁性能。重要的是，随着晶格特征缩小到10 nm以下，这种现象应该扩大到室温。 该项目的一个更广泛的智力贡献是将最基本的量子物理学与先进的硅微电子学联系起来。当根据“摩尔定律”的进一步晶体管小型化变得不切实际时，成功的器件可以通过取代晶体管来发挥重要的经济作用，从而潜在地在自旋电子学、量子计算和目前只能推测的其他应用中找到用途。该项目将培训研究生和本科生进行科学和工程研究，本科生准备样品并调查自旋晶格的晶体管特性。研究生将通过在新的“犹他州科技博物馆”创建一个互动展览来广泛传播这些知识。

The objective of this research is the development and characterization of new silicon devices that should exhibit a variety of magnetic behaviors at will - even though consisting of non-magnetic silicon. Recent theoretical results demonstrated that on a finely-patterned two-dimensional lattice, electrons are confined to intersection sites; at higher concentrations, additional electrons also occupy interstitial sites. Many-body quantum theory predicts that at these differing concentrations, Ferromagnetic, Antiferromagnetic, and several Other Phases will arise, triggered by electron-electron interactions. It should be possible to "switch" between these thermodynamically stable phases merely by changing a control voltage. Such controllable "Spin Lattices" should prove useful in spintronic devices. The approach is to etch lattices into the gate electrodes of silicon metal-oxide-semiconductor transistors. Theoretical and numerical efforts will evaluate their novel electrical and magnetic properties. Importantly, the phenomena should scale up to room temperature as lattice features scale down below 10 nm. A broader intellectual contribution of this project is the connection of the most basic quantum physics with advanced silicon microelectronics. Successful devices may play an important economic role by replacing transistors when further transistor miniaturization according to "Moore's Law" becomes impractical, potentially finding uses in spintronics, quantum computation, and other applications one can only conjecture at present. This project will train graduate and undergraduate students in scientific and engineering research, with undergraduate students preparing samples and investigating transistors properties for spin lattices. Graduate students will broadly disseminate this knowledge by creating an interactive exhibit in the new "Utah Museum of Science and Technology".