Nanowerk January 12, 2022
Until now, implanting atoms in silicon has been a haphazard process, where a silicon chip gets showered with phosphorus which implant in a random pattern. An international team of researchers (Australia, Germany) has developed a technique to place them in an orderly array, similar to the transistors in conventional semiconductors computer chips. They embedded phosphorus ions, precisely counting each one, in a silicon substrate creating a qubit using advanced technology developed for sensitive x-ray detectors and a special atomic force microscope. They drilled a tiny hole in the cantilever, so that when it was showered with phosphorus atoms one would occasionally drop through the hole and embed in the silicon substrate. As it ploughs into the silicon crystal the kinetic energy of the atom dissipates making a tiny electronic ‘click’ confirming an atom has been embedded. The new technique can create large scale patterns of counted atoms that are controlled so their quantum states can be manipulated, coupled and read-out…read more. Open Access TECHNICAL ARTICLE
Localization of single-ion implants…. Credit: Advanced Materials, 11 October 2021Â