Nicholas Chittock

As IC manufacturing pushes towards angstrom era technology nodes with ever increasing structural complexity, controlling material synthesis at the atomic scale becomes essential. Atomic layer etching (ALE) is emerging as a technique to meet the stringent demands of next-generation device fabrication. Etch damage/roughness is a limitation in device fabrication for many applications such as quantum, photonic, power semi, RF, and µLEDs. In these fields ALE could be an enabling technology to help drive further improvement.

This talk will introduce the fundamentals of ALE, beginning with an overview of what constitutes an ALE process, followed by the key process metrics which are used to define it with case studies from literature. The distinction between anisotropic and isotropic ALE will be examined, highlighting how to adapt recipe conditions to promote the desired etch directionality. Finally, broader trends in ALE literature will be outlined, including pathways to increase ALE throughput and ALE at varying substrate temperatures.

Francois Morini

Effective chamber management is essential for maintaining process stability, uniformity, and uptime in plasma deposition and etching systems. This presentation discusses practical strategies to prevent film build-up, minimize particle generation, and optimize system utilization through plasma cleaning. Topics include in-situ cleaning methods for PECVD and ICP-CVD, interleave cleaning to improve repeatability, and the use of OES for precise endpoint detection. Case studies demonstrate how tailored chemistries, chamber conditions, and cleaning rate adjustments can enhance efficiency and reduce mechanical maintenance. Attendees will acquire practical guidance for achieving consistent, high-performance operation across various plasma processes.

Sueng Cho

As AI adoption accelerates, nanofabrication must leverage these technologies to improve operational performance, process understanding and optimization. Increasing plasma‑processing complexity makes high‑resolution, well‑structured data essential for future innovation.

Oxford Instruments’ PTIQ software ecosystem meets this need by offering millisecond‑level data capture, device hardware fingerprinting, advanced diagnostics, and trend analysis. These tools point to actionable insights, helping engineers detect performance drift, optimise process parameters, and build reproducible, data‑rich workflows.

This talk will show how nanofabrication facilities can prepare for practical AI and machine‑learning deployment—using PTIQ to drive visibility, reproducibility, and data‑driven decision‑making. Attendees will learn concrete steps for integrating AI‑ready workflows into their cleanrooms, from diagnostics and drift detection to predictive modelling and process intelligence.

Francois Morini

This presentation provides a practical comparison of PECVD and ICP-CVD thin-film deposition technologies used in industry. Both methods produce high-quality silicon-based films but differ considerably in plasma generation, ion energy, and maximum temperatures. PECVD offers high deposition rates, mature process control, and a wide range of material options, though it faces challenges in film quality at lower temperatures. ICP-CVD creates high-density, low-damage plasmas, leading to superior film quality, better stress management, and improved electrical performance at temperatures as low as room temperature—making it ideal for temperature-sensitive substrates. Using process data, material performance, and hardware insights, attendees will gain clear guidance on selecting the most suitable technique for their manufacturing needs.

Nicholas Chittock

Current generation quantum devices suffer from losses due to poor interface quality, non-uniform deposition, and etch induced surface damage.1 Employing advanced fabrication techniques to minimise (or avoid) these sources of loss could present a route towards higher quality films, thus enabling longer coherence times for optical and superconducting quantum devices.

In this talk we will discuss the use of atomic layer etching (ALE) and atomic layer deposition (ALD) to minimise surface defects for a variety of different quantum modalities. The atomic-scale processing techniques ALE and ALD offer sub-nm thickness control, wafer-scale uniformity, and low damage processing. ALE of films for superconducting, colour centre and waveguide applications will be highlighted, demonstrating how ALE can accurately control etch depth, while also reducing surface damage.2,3 Examples of how ALD of superconducting nitrides (TiN, NbN & NbTiN) can be used to fabricate superconducting nanowire single photon detectors (SNSPDs) and superconducting through silicon vias will then be given.4,5 Furthermore, ALD of high-quality dielectrics for insulator layers or surface passivation could enable less lossy interfaces. Utilising advanced etching and deposition techniques with atomic-scale precision may offer a route towards improved performance for next generation quantum devices.

References

de Leon, N. P., et al (2021). Science, 372(6539).

Chen, I. I., et al. (2024). Journal of Vacuum Science & Technology A, 42(6).

Michaels, J. A., et al. (2023). Journal of Vacuum Science & Technology A, 41(3).

Ren, Z., et al. (2025). IEEE Electron Device Letters, 46(2), 175–178.

Peeters, S. A., et al. (2025). AVS Quantum Science, 7(2).

PTiQ software

Eric Zhang

As semiconductor devices shrink and packaging architectures grow more complex, accurate materials characterization has become a critical enabler of process development and yield improvement. Energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) and electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) are two of the most powerful techniques available — providing complementary windows into a material's chemical composition and microstructure at the nanoscale.

The first part of this talk highlights recent advances in EDS technology, with a focus on the windowless UltimExtreme detector optimized for semiconductor applications. We'll discuss why carbon resolution is essential for the most demanding samples, how the BEX (backscatter electron and X-ray) technique enables full-sample chemical mapping, and how labs can non-destructively measure thin film and multilayer thicknesses — reducing the need for time-consuming destructive cross-sections.

The second part examines how EBSD can be applied as a predictive tool for failure analysis, probing grain orientation, phase distribution, and interfacial strain to identify structural vulnerabilities before they become yield or reliability issues — across applications ranging from front-end devices to advanced packaging.

Together, EDS and EBSD form a powerful characterization platform that helps core, R&D facilities and nanofabs move faster, diagnose problems earlier, and meet the growing demands of next-generation semiconductor manufacturing.

Will Linthicum

2D materials exhibit unique electric and mechanical properties that require precise nanoscale characterization to enable their use in advanced semiconductor devices. Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) and Raman Microscopy are complementary, non-destructive, high-resolution techniques for studying these materials. AFM provides detailed information on surface morphology, defects, and local electrical and mechanical properties, in addition to the atomic lattice and moiré pattern of twisted 2D material structures. Raman Microscopy offers insights into material molecular identification, layer number, strain, doping, and crystal quality with spatial mapping capabilities. Together, these techniques enable a correlative understanding of structure-property relationships of 2D materials for scalable semiconductor applications.

Elijah David Solomon Courtney

Two-dimensional materials provide a promising new platform for electronic applications in both fundamental science and engineering. Electronic properties of many 2D materials are highly sensitive to strain, carrier and defect density, and grain size. Small variations in these parameters often dominate device performance yet remain difficult to tune or quantify after growth and fabrication. This difficulty motivates the development of quantitative, scalable methods to characterize 2D materials.

We review the use of Raman spectroscopy for extracting carrier density, temperature, defect density, and crystallographic orientation in graphene as a model 2D material. We then demonstrate polarized Raman mapping of as-exfoliated and intentionally strained graphene flakes, enabling spatially resolved extraction of the full in-plane strain tensor without special sample preparation.

*Experimental measurements and analysis were supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Basic Energy Sciences, Materials Sciences and Engineering Division, under Contract DE-AC02-76SF00515. Infrastructure was funded in part by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation through Grant No. GBMF3429.