Single-electron transfer between two donors in nanoscale thin silicon-on-insulator field-effect transistors

We describe single-electron transfer between two donors in thin silicon-on-insulator field-effect transistors with phosphorus-doped channel. At low temperatures, single-electron tunneling through one donor can be identified in source-drain current/gate voltage measurements as a single current peak. On this peak, we observed hysteresis most likely as a signature of single-electron transfer with another donor. The origin of single-electron transfer is related to different intensities of coupling between each donor and the interface, as evidenced from simulations. It was found that donor-interface coupling is essential for the energetic transfer of a single-electron location within the two-donor system. (C) 2010 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3530442]