CMP-Wafer-Polisher

• Subject Area: Materials Science
• Term: Funded in 2024
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 550604414

Superconducting quantum sensors are a disruptive technology that, by exploiting quantum mechanical effects, allows to increase the performance of sensor systems far beyond the limits of established classical systems . Today, they enable the implementation of a wide range of experiments and applications in science, society and industry that were previously considered impossible to realize. For this reason, research into the further development and specific application of first and second generation superconducting quantum sensors is being carried out both at universities and in industrial research facilities around the world. The respective sensors consist of superconducting micro- and nanostructures, which are combined with normal conducting and dielectric structures and manufactured using state-of-the-art fabrication methods from thin-film technology. Currently, thin-film deposition and etching processes are mainly used in conjunction with UV photolithography and electron beam lithography. The resulting topology of multilayer structures is not planar and limits the complexity of superconducting sensors, as the risk of edge breakage, constrictions in the structure cross-section or the ampacity reduction in higher layers must be counteracted by increasingly thicker thin films. The production of superconducting sensors with more than two superconducting layers on top of each other is therefore currently only possible in a few exceptional situations, if at all. The proposed CMP wafer polishing machine is intended to enable the development of the next generation of superconducting quantum sensors. Specifically, the proposed device will be used to develop wafer-scale processes for the chemical-mechanical polishing (CMP) of superconducting, normal conducting and dielectric thin films, which will be used to establish the production of planarized micro- and nanostructures for superconducting quantum sensor technology. The planarized structures will subsequently enable the production of novel superconducting quantum interference detectors (SQUIDs), cryogenic microcalorimeters and microbolometers as well as other innovative components, which can further advance the transition from conventional to quantum technology sensor systems.

• DFG Programme: Major Research Instrumentation
• Major Instrumentation: CMP-Wafer-Poliermaschine
• Instrumentation Group: 2040 Schleifmaschinen
• Applicant Institution: Karlsruher Institut für Technologie
• Leader: Professor Dr. Sebastian Kempf