SPIDERMAN · Electronic Transport and Spin dynamics through SiGe self-assembled quantum dots

In 1990 Eaglesham and Cerullo [Phys. Rev. Lett. 64, 1943 (1990)] reported for the first time that three dimensional SiGe islands can be grown crystalline on Si, creating thus high expectations that these nanostructures could provide a valid route towards innovative, scalable and CMOS-compatible nanodevices. Two decades later the researcher has investigated for the first time their electronic properties by fabricating three terminal devices after integrating them on silicon on insulator substrates. The first results obtained so far indicate that SiGe self-assembled quantum dots have a rather unique combination of properties, i.e. low hyperfine interaction and strong spin-orbit coupling. The aim of this project is to study the potential of SiGe self assembled quantum dots for novel nanoscale devices including operation at room temperature. The objective of the present proposal is above all to: a) study spin-dependent transport in self assembled QD aiming to identify signature of spin precession induced by the spin orbit coupling b) study the characteristic time scales for spin dynamics in the SiGe QD system and move towards fully electrical coherent spin manipulation and c) realize a high performance p-type nanoscale transistor operating at room temperature. The experimental research proposed here may provide a new handle on the physics and control of electronic spins in silicon-based nanostructures with possible relevant implications for spintronics and spin-based quantum computation.