Coulomb blockade in Sb nanocrystals formed in thin, thermally grown SiO2 layers by low-energy ion implantation

Sb nanocrystals were formed in thin, thermally grown SiO2 layers using low-energy ion implantation followed by thermal annealing. These Sb nanocrystals have good size and position uniformity. Both the narrow as-implanted profile and the compressive strain that exists near the SiO2/Si interface supposedly contribute to the uniformity. The I–V characteristics of the diode structure show a Coulomb blockade region around 0 V and a Coulomb staircase at 4.2 K. The Coulomb blockade region was observed up to a temperature of 100 K. The technique offers the possibility of developing practical Si-based single-electron devices.