News: Suppliers
28 May 2020
Angstrom and k-Space partner on low-temperature monitoring in Josephson junction fabrication platform
k-Space Associates Inc of Dexter, MI, USA – which makes in-situ, ex-situ and in-line thin-film metrology instrumentation for both research and manufacturing of microelectronic, optoelectronic and photovoltaic devices – has installed a kSA BandiT non-contact optical temperature monitoring system on a Quantum Series Josephson junction fabrication platform of Angstrom Engineering Inc of Kitchener, Ontario, Canada, designed for a large commercial partner.
The kSA BandiT system is used in the oxidation chamber to monitor the substrate temperature in the range from room temperature to 250°C. The non-contact measurement of temperatures in this regime is unique to k-Space by virtue of its patented band-edge-based temperature measurement technology.
The kSA BandiT system was engineered to accommodate the fabrication system’s specific geometry and process materials. The oxide layer grown in this chamber is critical to device performance and is largely influenced by the growth temperature. The ability to accurately measure wafer temperature during oxidation creates a powerful level of control and should lead to a deeper understanding of this relationship, the firm reckons.
“Our BandiT instrument is able to accurately measure their substrate temperature in real time, even at low temperatures and in the presence of radiation from a substrate heating system,” says k-Space product development engineer Barry Wissman (one of the kSA BandiT technology inventors). “We pride ourselves in the ability to customize our systems to provide the measurement and control capabilities our customers need,” he adds.
Angstrom’s Quantum Series equipment fabricates qubits for use in quantum computing. The Quantum Series Josephson junction fabrication platform utilizes physical vapor deposition (PVD), ion processing, gas flow management, precise substrate fixturing and a pure vacuum environment to finely tune every variable of Josephson junction fabrication to the users’ requirements.
“The BandiT equips our Quantum Series of equipment with a powerful tool for direct, non-contact measurement of wafer temperatures during critical processes,” comments Angstrom’s director of business development Mike Miller. “This will provide researchers with a critical piece of information that can be used to optimize the quality and yield of quantum devices,” he believes.
