Single electron manipulation in silicon nanowires for quantum technologies

Abstract

A redenition of the Ampere based on the quantum metrology triangle is required to improve the accuracy of the unit. The Si single electron pump is considered a promising candidate for the single electron source in the quantum metrology triangle due to its compatibility with the state-of-art CMOS manufacturing platform. However, the fabrication processes have not been fully established, and the performance impact factors and reliability of Si single electron pumps have not been fully addressed. In this project, I successfully fabricated Si electron pumps with atomically at surfaces, using the advanced facilities in Southampton Nanofabrication Centre. I observed current plateaus with the width of 18 meV and uncertainty of 0.828% when the single electron pump is operated at 125 MHz in the National Physical Laboratory, showing the possibilities for the applications of current calibration. The reliability issues were investigated by measuring Si quantum dot devices and the single electron pumps fabricated. The impact of charge traps in quantum devices were addressed by investigating the random telegraph noise in the devices. I demonstrated that the charge traps can impact the device reliability by resonant tunnelling, which will help scientists to understand further about the reliability impact factors of silicon quantum devices.