Enhancement mode double top gated MOS nanostructures with tunable lateral geometry

Abstract: We present measurements of silicon (Si) metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) nanostructures that are fabricated using a process that facilitates essentially arbitrary gate geometries. Stable Coulomb blockade behavior free from the effects of parasitic dot formation is exhibited in several MOS quantum dots with an open lateral quantum dot geometry. Decreases in mobility and increases in charge defect densities (i.e. interface traps and fixed oxide charge) are measured for critical process steps, and we correlate low disorder behavior with a quantitative defect density. This work provides quantitative guidance that has not been previously established about defect densities for which Si quantum dots do not exhibit parasitic dot formation. These devices make use of a double-layer gate stack in which many regions, including the critical gate oxide, were fabricated in a fully-qualified CMOS facility.