Reactive ion etching

• Subject Area: Condensed Matter Physics
• Term: Funded in 2019
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 423610064

With the requested devices we aim at fabricating nanostructures for quantum optics applications. The group of Prof. Fei Ding has shown in recent years that semiconductor quantum dots are an excellent source of entangled photons pairs. As a next step towards scalable and competitive photon sources, these quantum dots will be embedded in nanostructures. By making optical microcavities (e.g., circular Bragg grating), the quality of the emitted photons should be significantly increased. By using photonic crystals the efficient photon coupling into optical fibers can be investigated. Furthermore, quantum dots are to be integrated into photonic waveguide networks, e.g. to realize multiphoton entanglement on a single microchip. In combination with microstructured piezoelectric materials, the properties of the emitted photons can be tuned deterministically. All these applications require high-precision structures in the nanometer range (structure sizes below 50 nm), for which photolithography and wet-chemical etching processes are not sufficient. For this reason, on the one hand, an electron lithography system is requested which is intended to produce nanostructure pattern in resist. A dry etching system (RIE reactive ion etching) is intended to transfer the structures into the semiconductor material. Precise adjustment of the RIE process parameters allows precise control of the etched nanostructure (depth, anisotropy, surface roughness), which ensures the quality of the emitted photons.

• DFG Programme: Major Research Instrumentation
• Major Instrumentation: Reactive ion etching
• Instrumentation Group: 5180 Elektronen- und Ionenstrahl-Quellen und -Bearbeitungsgeräte
• Applicant Institution: Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Universität Hannover
• Leader: Professor Dr. Fei Ding