Single-Ion Counting with an Ultra-Thin-Membrane Silicon Carbide Sensor

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Nanotechnology
• Quantum Physics

Background:

• Ion implantation is crucial for nanoscale deterministic material doping, especially in solid-state quantum device fabrication.
• Accurate counting and positioning of implanted ions are essential for these advanced applications.
• Existing detection methods may lack the required precision for single-ion detection.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce an innovative method for detecting single ions with MeV energy.
• To evaluate the efficacy of sub-micrometer ultra-thin silicon carbide sensors as in-beam counters.
• To assess the impact of the sensor on ion beam characteristics like angular straggling.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a sub-micrometer ultra-thin silicon carbide (SiC) sensor as an in-beam counter for transmitted MeV ions.
• Compared SiC sensor signals with those from a Passivated Implanted Planar Silicon detector.
• Employed the scanning knife-edge method with a focused ion microbeam to measure angular straggling.
• Compared experimental ion beam dimensions with SRIM (Stopping and Range of Ions in Matter) calculations.

Main Results:

• The SiC sensor demonstrated 96.5% ion-detection confidence compared to the Passivated Implanted Planar Silicon detector.
• This high confidence indicates the suitability of SiC membrane sensors for high-fidelity ion counting.
• Angular straggling of transmitted ions due to the SiC sensor was quantified using the scanning knife-edge method.
• Experimental results were consistent with SRIM calculations, validating the sensor's minimal impact on beam profile.

Conclusions:

• Sub-micrometer SiC sensors are effective for high-fidelity single-ion counting in MeV energy ranges.
• The developed method offers precise ion detection crucial for deterministic nanoscale ion implantation.
• This technique holds significant potential for advancing solid-state quantum device fabrication and other precision applications.