Oxide removal and stabilization of bismuth thin films through chemically bound thiol layers.

Bismuth has been identified as a material of interest for electronic applications due to its extremely high electron mobility and quantum confinement effects observed at nanoscale dimensions. However, it is also the case that Bi nanostructures are readily oxidised in ambient air, necessitating additional capping steps to prevent surface re-oxidation, thus limiting the processing potential of this material. This article describes an oxide removal and surface stabilization method performed on molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) grown bismuth thin-films using ambient air wet-chemistry.

Organo-arsenic molecular layers on silicon for high-density doping.

This article describes for the first time the controlled monolayer doping (MLD) of bulk and nanostructured crystalline silicon with As at concentrations approaching 2 × 10(20) atoms cm(-3). Characterization of doped structures after the MLD process confirmed that they remained defect- and damage-free, with no indication of increased roughness or a change in morphology. Electrical characterization of the doped substrates and nanowire test structures allowed determination of resistivity, sheet resistance, and active doping levels.