A silicon quantum wire transistor with one-dimensional subband effects

A silicon quantum wire transistor, in which electrons are transported throu gh a very narrow wire, has been fabricated using silicon-on-insulator techn ology, electron beam lithography, anisotropic dry etching, and thermal oxid ation. We have obtained the quantum wire with a width of 65 nm, which is fu lly embedded in silicon dioxide. This narrow dimension of the wire and larg e potential barrier between silicon and silicon dioxide make the electrons moving through the wire experience one-dimensional confinement. The step-li ke structure in the conductance versus gate voltage curve, which is a typic al evidence of one-dimensional conductance. has been observed at temperatur es below 4.2 K. A period of step appearance and a step size have been analy zed to compare experimental characteristics with theoretical calculation. ( C) 2000 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.