Sb nanocrystals were formed in thin, thermally grownSiO2layers using low-energy ion implantation followed by thermal annealing. These Sb nanocrystals have good size and position uniformity. Both the narrow as-implanted profile and the compressive strain that exists near theSiO2/Siinterface supposedly contribute to the uniformity. TheI–Vcharacteristics of the diode structure show a Coulomb blockade region around 0 V and a Coulomb staircase at 4.2 K. The Coulomb blockade region was observed up to a temperature of 100 K. The technique offers the possibility of developing practical Si-based single-electron devices. ©1998 American Institute of Physics.