Physical Simulation of Silicon-Nanocrystal-Based Single-Electron Transistors

A 3-D simulator of semiconducting nanocrystal (NC)-based single-electron transistors (SETs) is presented. It is based on the self-consistent solution of Poisson and Schrödinger equations. The resulting wave functions are used to compute the bias-dependent tunneling rates in the weak dot-to-lead coupling limit. These rates are used as input data of a Monte Carlo code, which treats the sequential transport of electrons through the tunnel barriers. The simulator is applied to a typical silicon-NC SET. The resulting current-voltage characteristics are discussed in terms of tunneling rates, chemical potentials, and wave functions. The influence of all device parameters and of the temperature are carefully analyzed.