Quantum effects in ion implanted devices

Fabrication of nanoscale devices that exploit the rules of quantum mechanics to process information presents formidable technical challenges because of the need to control quantum states at the level of individual atoms, electrons or photons. We have used ion implantation to fabricate devices on the scale of 10 nm that have allowed the development and test of nanocircuitry for the control of charge transport at the level of single electrons. This fabrication method is compatible with the construction of devices that employ counted P dopants in Si by employing the technique of ion beam induced charge (IBIC) in which single 14 keV P ions can be implanted into ultra-pure silicon substrates by monitoring on-substrate detector electrodes. We have used IBIC with a MeV nuclear microprobe to map and measure the charge collection efficiency in the development of the electrode structure and show that 100% charge collection efficiency can be achieved. Prototype devices fabricated by this method have been used to investigate quantum effects in the control and transport of single electrons with potential applications to solid state quantum information processing devices.