Abstract
We report on the interface quality and phonon-assisted tunneling in nanocrystalline Si (nc-Si)/ amorphous SiO2 (a-SiO2) superlattices (SLs) prepared by magnetron sputtering and thermal crystallization of nanometer-thick a-Si layers. Phonon-assisted tunneling is observed in a bipolar nc-Si based structure, which confirms that the nc-Si/a-SiO2 junction is not only abrupt but also nearly defect free. The conclusion is supported by capacitance-voltage measurements from which the estimated interface defect density is found to be ∼ 1011 cm-2 for an eight-period SL. Such high quality interfaces hold considerable promise for the development of nc-Si SL quantum devices.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 2265-2267 |
| Number of pages | 3 |
| Journal | Applied Physics Letters |
| Volume | 75 |
| Issue number | 15 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Oct 11 1999 |
| Externally published | Yes |
All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Physics and Astronomy (miscellaneous)