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Bismuth trichloride as a molecular precursor for silicon doping

Schofield, Steven; LUNDGREN, Eric; Conybeare, Rebecca; Stock, Taylor; Curson, Neil; Warschkow, Oliver; (2023) Bismuth trichloride as a molecular precursor for silicon doping. Applied Physics Letters , 122 (15) , Article 151601. 10.1063/5.0145772. Green open access

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Abstract

Dopant impurity species can be incorporated into the silicon (001) surface via the adsorption and dissociation of simple precursor molecules. Examples include phosphine (PH3), arsine (AsH3), and diborane (B2H6) for the incorporation of phosphorus, arsenic, and boron, respectively. Through exploitation of precursor surface chemistry, the spatial locations of these incorporated dopants can be controlled at the atomic scale via the patterning of a hydrogen lithographic resist layer using scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). There is strong interest in the spatial control of bismuth atoms incorporated into silicon for quantum technological applications; however, there is currently no known precursor for the incorporation of bismuth that is compatible with this STM-based lithographic method. Here, we explore the precursor chemistry (adsorption, diffusion, and dissociation) of bismuth trichloride (BiCl3) on Si(001). We show atomic-resolution STM images of BiCl3 exposed Si(001) surfaces at low coverage and combine this with density functional theory calculations to produce a model of the surface processes and the observed features. Our results show that, at room temperature, BiCl3 completely dissociates to produce bismuth ad-atoms, ad-dimers, and surface-bound chlorine, and we explain how BiCl3 is a strong candidate for a bismuth precursor compound compatible with lithographic patterning at the sub-nanometer scale.

Type: Article
Title: Bismuth trichloride as a molecular precursor for silicon doping
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1063/5.0145772
Publisher version: https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0145772
Language: English
Additional information: © 2023 Author(s). All article content, except where otherwise noted, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences > London Centre for Nanotechnology
URI: https://discovery-pp.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10167686
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