Influence of imperfections on tunneling rate in $\delta$-layer junctions

Abstract

The atomically precise placement of dopants in semiconductors using scanning tunneling microscopes has been used to create planar dopant-based devices, enabling the exploration of novel classical or quantum computing concepts, which often require precise control over tunneling rates in their operation. While the geometry of the dopants can be defined to sub-nanometer precision, imperfections can still play a significant role in determining the tunneling rates. Here, we investigate the influence of different imperfections in phosphorous $\delta$-layer tunnel junctions in silicon: variations of $\delta$-layer thickness and tunnel gap width, interface roughness, and charged impurities. It is found that while most of the imperfections moderately affect the tunneling rate, a single charged impurity in the tunnel gap can alter the tunneling rate by more than an order of magnitude, even for relatively large tunnel gaps. Moreover, it is also revealed that the tunneling rate strongly depends on the electrical charge sign of the impurity.