Ion beam synthesis for hybrid nanoelectronics: beyond silicon limits

A key milestone for the next generation of high-performance nanoelectronic devices is the monolithic integration of III-V compound semiconductor materials with silicon technology. The incorporation of different functional III-V nano- and optoelectronic elements on a single chip enables performance progress, which can overcome the downsizing limit in silicon technology. Conventionally, the integration of III-V semiconductors with Si is based on the heteroepitaxial growth of multi-layered structures on Si or a variety of wafer bonding techniques. Devices based on such structures combine the high carrier mobility and high luminescence efficiency of III-V semiconductors with the advantages of well-developed silicon technology. We have shown that the ion beam implantation technique (fluences of 1x1016 ion/cm2 to 4x1016 ion/cm2) followed by millisecond-range flash lamp annealing can be successfully utilised for the fabrication of different Si/III-V heterojunctions on bulk Si and SOI substrates [1-3]. Recently, we have extended the application of ion beam implantation followed by ms liquid-phase processing into the fabrication of hybrid 1D materials. We have demonstrated axial heteronanowires consisting of III-V compound semiconductor and Si using advanced processing steps of silicon technology [4]. The clou of this approach is the phase formation within milliseconds via the liquid phase leading to excellent crystalline properties in the volume and at the interface of the nanocrystals. This paves the way for a hybrid 1D nano-/optoelectronics with high-mobility and optically active materials, compatible to standard Si technology. Moreover, this kind of processing on the nanoscale could lead to a renewed interest in the field of ion beam synthesis. 1. S. Prucnal, et al., Nano Lett. 11, 2814 (2011). 2. S. Prucnal, et al., Nanotechnology 23, 485204 (2012). 3. S. Prucnal, et al., J. Appl. Phys. 115, 074306 (2014). 4. S. Prucnal, et al., Nano Research, submitted (2014).