Detection of arsenic donor electrons using gate-pulse-induced spin-dependent recombination in silicon transistors

Abstract

The detection of donor electrons is important for Si-based spintronics and quantum computers, as well as complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) circuits. One of the detection schemes is based on the spin-dependent recombination, for which photoexcitation has, so far, been used to generate electrons and holes. In this study, we rather induce the recombination electrically by a gate pulse in Si MOS transistors. Under the spin resonance conditions, we detect signals from arsenic (As) donors, located in the channel edge regions close to the As-implanted source/drain. The analysis suggests that the detection is owing to the spin pairs formed by an As donor electron spin and an electron spin of a defect center at the MOS SiO2/Si interface and to their spin-dependent process during the recombination.