skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: Interface-induced heavy-hole/light-hole splitting of acceptors in silicon

Journal Article · · Applied Physics Letters
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4921640· OSTI ID:22402473
 [1]; ; ; ; ;  [2];  [1]
  1. Centre for Quantum Computation and Communication Technology, School of Physics, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales 2052 (Australia)
  2. Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47906 (United States)

The energy spectrum of spin-orbit coupled states of individual sub-surface boron acceptor dopants in silicon have been investigated using scanning tunneling spectroscopy at cryogenic temperatures. The spatially resolved tunnel spectra show two resonances, which we ascribe to the heavy- and light-hole Kramers doublets. This type of broken degeneracy has recently been argued to be advantageous for the lifetime of acceptor-based qubits [R. Ruskov and C. Tahan, Phys. Rev. B 88, 064308 (2013)]. The depth dependent energy splitting between the heavy- and light-hole Kramers doublets is consistent with tight binding calculations, and is in excess of 1 meV for all acceptors within the experimentally accessible depth range (<2 nm from the surface). These results will aid the development of tunable acceptor-based qubits in silicon with long coherence times and the possibility for electrical manipulation.

OSTI ID:
22402473
Journal Information:
Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 106, Issue 20; Other Information: (c) 2015 AIP Publishing LLC; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0003-6951
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English