Monolithic Three-Dimensional Tuning of an Atomically Defined Silicon Tunnel Junction

A requirement for quantum information processors is the in situ tunability of the tunnel rates and the exchange interaction energy within the device. The large energy level separation for atom qubits in silicon is well suited for qubit operation but limits device tunability using in-plane gate architectures, requiring vertically separated top-gates to control tunnelling within the device. In this paper, we address control of the simplest tunnelling device in Si:P, the tunnel junction. Here we demonstrate that we can tune its conductance by using a vertically separated top-gate aligned with +/- 5 nm precision to the junction. We show that a monolithic 3D epitaxial top-gate increases the capacitive coupling by a factor of 3 compared to in-plane gates, resulting in a tunnel barrier height tunability of 0-186 meV. By combining multiple gated junctions in series we extend our monolithic 3D gating technology to implement nanoscale logic circuits including AND and OR gates.

Automated summary

The study demonstrates the tunability of tunnel junction conductance in Si:P by using vertically separated top-gates and introduces a monolithic 3D epitaxial top-gate technology that increases capacitive coupling, allowing tunability of tunnel barrier height. By combining multiple gated junctions in series, the technology is extended to implement nanoscale logic circuits including AND and OR gates.