Silicon quantum dot devices for future electronics

Quantum dot structures, where electrons are confined three-dimensionally in the below 10 nm scale, show characteristics quite different from conventional bulk structures. Recent progress in the fabrication technology of silicon nanostructures has made possible observations of novel electrical and optical properties of silicon quantum dots, such as single electron tunneling, ballistic transport, visible photoluminescence and electron emission. Silicon quantum dots are fabricated either by bottom-up or top-down processes. Fabrication and electrical characterization of Nanocrystalline Si films by plasma processes and coupled Si quantum dots by electron beam lithography processes are described.