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arXiv · 2106.13643

Mechanism of electron-beam manipulation of single dopant atoms in silicon

Alexander Markevich·Bethany M Hudak·Jacob Madsen·Jiaming Song·Paul C Snijders·Andrew R Lupini·Toma Susi
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Abstract

The precise positioning of dopant atoms within bulk crystal lattices could enable novel applications in areas including solid-state sensing and quantum computation. Established scanning probe techniques are capable tools for the manipulation of surface atoms, but at a disadvantage due to their need to bring a physical tip into contact with the sample. This has prompted interest in electron-beam techniques, followed by the first proof-of-principle experiment of bismuth dopant manipulation in crystalline silicon. Here, we use first principles modeling to discover a novel indirect exchange mechanism that allows electron impacts to non-destructively move dopants with atomic precision within the silicon lattice. However, this mechanism only works for the two heaviest group V donors with split-vacancy configurations, Bi and Sb. We verify our model by directly imaging these configurations for Bi, and by demonstrating that the promising nuclear spin qubit Sb can be manipulated using a focused electron beam.

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Alexander Markevich, Bethany M Hudak, Jacob Madsen, Jiaming Song, Paul C Snijders, Andrew R Lupini, Toma Susi. 2021-06-25. Mechanism of electron-beam manipulation of single dopant atoms in silicon. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpcc.1c03549

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