Metallized Nuclear Tracks in Quasi Metal Oxide Semiconductor Structures for Electronic Devices

Abstract

The impact of swift heavy ions on silicon oxide and silicon oxynitride on silicon creates etchable tracks in these insulators. After their etching and filling-up with highly resistive matter, these nanometric pores can be used as charge extraction or injection paths toward the conducting channel in the underlying silicon. In this way, a family of electronic structures has been manufactured [German patent: DE 103 25 150 A1 (2004), and International patent application: WO 2004/10897 A2 (2004)]. The basic characteristics of these tunable electronic material with pores in oxide on silicon (TEMPOS) structures are summarized. Their functionality is determined by the type of insulator, the etch track diameters and lengths, their areal densities, the type of conducting matter embedded therein, and of course by the underlying semiconductor and the contact geometry. Depending on the TEMPOS preparation recipe and working mode, the structures may resemble gatable resistors, capacitors, diodes, transistors, photocells, or sensors, which renders them rather universally applicable in electronics. TEMPOS structures are sensitive to temperature, light, humidity, and organic gases. Light emitting TEMPOS structures have been produced as well. About 60 TEMPOS-based circuits such as thermosensors, photosensors, humidity and alcohol sensors, amplifiers, frequency multipliers, amplitude modulators, oscillators, and flip-flops have already been designed and successfully tested. Sometimes TEMPOS-based circuits are more compact than conventional electronics. © 2007 The Electrochemical Society.