Low-Resistance, High-Yield Electrical Contacts to Atom Scale Si:P Devices Using Palladium Silicide

Abstract

Scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) enables the fabrication of two-dimensional δ-doped structures in Si with atomistic precision, with applications from tunnel field-effect transistors to qubits. The combination of a very small contact area and the restrictive thermal budget necessary to maintain the integrity of the δ layer make developing a robust electrical contact method a significant challenge to realizing the potential of atomically precise devices. We demonstrate a method for electrical contact using Pd2Si formed at the temperature of silicon overgrowth (250 °C), minimizing the diffusive impact on the δ layer. We use the transfer length method to show our Pd2Si contacts have very high yield (99.7% +0.2% -1.5%) and low resistivity (272±41Ωμm) in contacting mesa-etched Si:P δ layers. We also present three terminal measurements of low contact resistance (<1 kΩ) to devices written by STM hydrogen depassivation lithography with similarly high yield (100% +0% -3.2%).