The Effect of Electrostatic Screening on a Nanometer Scale Electrometer

TL;DR

This study examines how electrostatic screening influences the sensitivity of a nanoscale silicon MOSFET electrometer, demonstrating that environmental factors and device conditions can be tuned to optimize performance.

Contribution

It reveals the impact of substrate doping and external voltages on screening effects, providing insights for enhancing nanoscale electrometer sensitivity.

Findings

Screening by the p-type substrate significantly affects device sensitivity

Temperature and applied voltages can tune screening rate and magnitude

Electrometer remains highly sensitive despite screening effects

Abstract

We investigate the effect of electrostatic screening on a nanoscale silicon MOSFET electrometer. We find that screening by the lightly doped p-type substrate, on which the MOSFET is fabricated, significantly affects the sensitivity of the device. We are able to tune the rate and magnitude of the screening effect by varying the temperature and the voltages applied to the device, respectively. We show that despite this screening effect, the electrometer is still very sensitive to its electrostatic environment, even at room temperature.