Surface reconstruction induced anisotropic energy landscape of bismuth monomers and dimers on the Si(001) surface

TL;DR

This study uses ab-initio methods to explore how bismuth atoms interact with the Si(001) surface, revealing anisotropic energy landscapes and transition paths crucial for atomic-scale quantum computing applications.

Contribution

It provides a detailed theoretical analysis of bismuth adsorption sites and transition pathways on Si(001), considering surface reconstruction effects, which is novel for quantum computing surface engineering.

Findings

Bismuth exhibits complex adsorption behavior influenced by surface reconstruction.

Transition paths for bismuth monomers and dimers are anisotropic.

Simulation predicts occupation of specific adsorption sites for bismuth on Si(001).

Abstract

Spin qubits have attracted tremendous attention in the effort of building quantum computers over the years. Natural atomic scale candidates are group-V dopants in silicon, not only showing ultra-long lifetimes but also being compatible with current semiconductor technology. Nevertheless, bulk dopants are difficult to move with atomic precision, impeding the realization of desired structures for quantum computing. A solution is to place the atom on the surface which opens possibilities for atom level manipulations using scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). For this purpose, bismuth appears to be a good candidate. Here, we use ab-initio methods to study theoretically the adsorption of bismuth atoms on the Si(001) surface and investigate the adsorption sites and the transitions between them. We demonstrate the complex influence of the dimer row surface reconstruction on the energy landscape seen by a bismuth monomer and a dimer on the surface, and find anisotropic transition paths for movement on the surface. From a deposition simulation we obtain the expected occupation of adsorption sites. Our work lays the foundation for further application of bismuth atoms as qubits on silicon surfaces.