Nitrogen in Silicon for Room Temperature Single Electron Tunneling Devices

TL;DR

This paper proposes nitrogen-doped silicon as a promising material for room-temperature single-electron tunneling devices, supported by theoretical calculations showing favorable electronic properties compared to phosphorus doping.

Contribution

It introduces a theoretical analysis of nitrogen donors in silicon for room-temperature SETs, highlighting their advantages over traditional phosphorus donors.

Findings

Nitrogen donors have a deeper ground state in silicon.

N-doped silicon shows improved current-voltage characteristics for room-temperature operation.

Comparative analysis indicates N-donor's potential for practical quantum devices.

Abstract

Single electron transistor (SET) is an advanced tool to exploit in quantum devices. Working of such devices at room-temperature is essential for practical utilization. Dopant based single-electron devices are well studied at low-temperature although a few devices are developed for high-temperature operation with certain limitations. Here, we propose and theoretically exhibit that nitrogen (N) donor in silicon is an important candidate for effective designing of such devices. Theoretical calculation of density-of-states using semi-empirical DFT method indicates that N-donor in silicon has deep ground state compared to a phosphorus (P) donor. N-donor spectrum is explored in nano-silicon along with the P-donor. Comparative data of Bohr radius of N-donor and P-donor is also reported. The simulated current-voltage characteristics confirm that N-doped device is better suited for SET operation at room-temperature.