EAGER: Quantum Manufacturing: Atomic-layer Etching Manufacturing Processes for High Performance Superconducting Quantum Devices

这一探索研究早期概念补助金(EIGER)量子制造奖支持为新的原子规模制造过程贡献新知识的研究，促进科学进步和国家繁荣。量子计算机、传感器和其他利用量子力学的反直觉效应的设备，由于它们在科学和技术中的潜在应用，现在引起了人们的强烈兴趣。然而，除了用于半导体的制造工艺之外，还需要新的原子精密制造工艺。传统的半导体工艺可能导致量子器件的性能下降，从而刺激了与构成量子器件的材料和结构兼容的制造方法的发展。该奖项支持基础研究，为量子技术的原子层蚀刻开发提供所需的知识。原子层蚀刻有可能使原子尺度上的精密制造成为可能，其精度超过现有的制造方法。这种新的处理技术可能会导致量子设备的性能明显好于目前的设备，从而促进它们最终的应用。这项研究的成果将通过新技术的进一步发展而造福于美国经济和社会。这项研究涉及多个学科，包括制造、等离子体处理、微波工程和材料科学。多学科方法将有助于扩大代表不足的群体对研究的参与，并对工程教育产生积极影响。实现基于超导电路的量子设备的革命性潜力将需要在相干时间和稳定性方面进行数量级的改进。目前超导量子硬件的限制机制源于传统的微制造系统制造方法引入的表面缺陷。原子层刻蚀(ALE)是一种新的制造工艺，通过实现具有原子单层精度和原位钝化能力的减法制造工艺，有可能克服这一长期存在的挑战。该项目将开发ALE工艺来设计超导量子器件中使用的介质和金属薄膜的表面，具有潜在的极大提高精度的潜力，显著减少二能级系统(TLS)的负面影响。这项研究的结果将是一种实现超导量子电路的新制造工艺，对于超导量子电路，表面缺陷不再是消相干和低频波动的主要贡献者。这一奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This EArly-concept Grant for Exploratory Research (EAGER) Quantum Manufacturing award supports research contributing new knowledge to a novel atomic-scale manufacturing process, promoting both the progress of science and advancing national prosperity. Quantum computers, sensors, and other devices harnessing the counter-intuitive effects of quantum mechanics are now of intense interest due to their potential applications in science and technology. However, new atomically precise manufacturing processes beyond those used for semiconductors are needed. Conventional semiconductor processing can result in decreased performance of quantum devices spurring the development of manufacturing approaches compatible with the materials and structures comprising quantum devices. This award supports fundamental research to provide needed knowledge for the development of atomic layer etching for quantum technology. Atomic layer etching has the potential to enable precise manufacturing on the atomic scale with precision beyond existing manufacturing methods. Such new processing techniques could lead to quantum devices that could perform significantly better than present devices, facilitating their eventual applications. Results of this research will benefit the U.S. economy and society through the further development of new technologies. This research involves several disciplines including manufacturing, plasma processing, microwave engineering, and materials science. The multi-disciplinary approach will help broaden participation of underrepresented groups in research and positively impact engineering education. Realizing the revolutionary potential of quantum devices based on superconducting circuits will require orders-of-magnitude improvements in coherence times and stability. The present limiting mechanisms of superconducting quantum hardware arise from surface imperfections introduced from traditional manufacturing methods of microfabricated systems. Atomic layer etching (ALE) is a novel manufacturing process with potential to overcome this long-standing challenge by enabling a subtractive manufacturing process with atomic monolayer precision and in-situ passivation capability. This project will develop ALE processes to engineer the surfaces of dielectric and metallic films used in superconducting quantum devices with potentially greatly improved precision, markedly reducing the negative effects of two-level systems (TLS). The outcome of this research will be a novel manufacturing process to realize superconducting quantum circuits for which surface imperfections are no longer the dominant contributor to decoherence and low frequency fluctuations.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.