Interface-induced heavy-hole/light-hole splitting of acceptors in silicon

The energy spectrum of spin-orbit coupled states of individual sub-surface boron acceptor dopants in silicon have been investigated using scanning tunneling spectroscopy at cryogenic temperatures. The spatially resolved tunnel spectra show two resonances, which we ascribe to the heavy- and light-hole Kramers doublets. This type of broken degeneracy has recently been argued to be advantageous for the lifetime of acceptor-based qubits [R. Ruskov and C. Tahan, Phys. Rev. B 88, 064308 (2013)]. The depth dependent energy splitting between the heavy- and light-hole Kramers doublets is consistent with tight binding calculations, and is in excess of 1 meV for all acceptors within the experimentally accessible depth range (<2 nm from the surface). These results will aid the development of tunable acceptor-based qubits in silicon with long coherence times and the possibility for electrical manipulation.