• Sears, K.
• Wang, Y.
• Ruffell, S.
• Williams, J. S.
• Knights, A. P.

Abstract

<p>Conventional silicon devices and integrated circuits are fabricated in the diamond cubic phase of silicon, so-called Si-I. Other phases of silicon can be formed under pressure applied by indentation and these phases are metastable at room-temperature and pressure. As we demonstrate, such phases behave entirely differently to normal diamond-cubic silicon (Si-I) having different electrical properties. Two such phases, Si-III (BC8) and Si-XII (R8), can be formed by indentation but little is known about their electrical properties. Theoretical studies predict Si-III to be a semimetal [1] and Si-XII to be a narrow band gap semiconductor [2]. We report the first electrical measurements on these phases, which we have formed by nanoindentation. We demonstrate that Si-XII is a semiconductor that can be electrically doped with boron and phosphorus at room temperature. We also demonstrate early devices formed by nanoindentation at room temperature.</p>

Topics

• impedance spectroscopy
• phase
• semiconductor
• nanoindentation
• Silicon
• Boron
• Phosphorus