Quantum Devices

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Supporting the Quantum Revolution from Discovery to Manufacturing

  • Description

  • Quantum devices demand a level of precision and reproducibility far beyond conventional microfabrication. Coherence times and device performance are set by microscopic features, interfaces and alignment, so lithography must deliver high uniformity and true overlay for reliable multi-layer devices. Heidelberg Instruments provides a continuum of maskless and direct-write lithography solutions engineered to solve the fabrication challenges at every stage of the quantum device lifecycle.

    Why Lithography is Mission-Critical for Quantum Devices

    • Protecting coherence: Microscopic defects, edge roughness, or misalignment from the lithography step can directly introduce noise and decoherence, limiting qubit performance.
    • High-fidelity 2.5D patterning: Many quantum architectures require vertical/topographic control as well as lateral resolution.
    • Multi-layer registration: Accurate overlay is essential for multi-layer wiring, junctions and photonic stacks.
    • Scale without compromise: Moving from single-qubit experiments to thousands or millions of qubits demands manufacturable processes with tight tolerance and high throughput.

    Solutions Mapped to Your Development Path

    Discovery and Fundamental Research: NanoFrazor

    When you need the very highest fidelity for novel device concepts, the NanoFrazor’s thermal scanning probe lithography (t-SPL) provides unmatched control for nanoscale and 2.5D features.

    • Sub-2 nm vertical precision via Closed-Loop Lithography (in-situ imaging + feedback) – ideal for grayscale topographies and precise tunnel barriers.
    • Direct-write with inspection: simultaneous writing and imaging lets you verify structures during fabrication.
    • Targeted device fabrication: quantum dots, Josephson junctions, patterned 1D/2D materials.
    • Eliminates wet-chemistry uncertainties, minimizing process damage to sensitive materials.

    Rapid Prototyping and Multi-User R&D: DWL 66+ and MLA 150

    Speed and flexibility accelerate iteration cycles and enable creative architectures to be explored quickly. Maskless workflows remove turnaround time and mask costs.

    DWL 66+
    • High-resolution direct writing with minimum feature sizes down to ~200 nm – fast CAD-to-substrate workflow.
    • Reduce e-beam workload by using DWL for larger features and prototypes while reserving e-beam for the smallest, slowest tasks.
    MLA 150
    • Interactive ‘Draw Mode’ for precise electrode placement on unique flakes and heterostructures.
    • Advanced alignment with digital compensation for offset, rotation and scale – crucial for multi-layer quantum stacks.
    • Engineered for multi-user facilities with high uptime, fast onboarding (<1 hour), and accessible operation.

    Scale and Production: ULTRA, VPG+, and MLA 300

    When a device design is proven, reliable, repeatable and high-throughput lithography is required for manufacturing.

    • Production-ready nanoscale precision and high overlay accuracy for multi-layer superconducting circuits, photonic quantum chips and arrays of quantum dots.
    • Robust mechanical platform (air-bearing stages, differential interferometry) for superior registration and repeatability.
    • Full automation & mask handling to reduce cycle times and ensure consistent yield at scale.
    • MLA 300 enables advanced packaging of quantum chips.

    Technical Differentiators: What sets us apart

    • Portfolio continuity: Tools that integrate from single-qubit experiments to mass production without breaking process continuity.
    • Closed-Loop Metrology: In-situ imaging and feedback (NanoFrazor) to reduce process uncertainty.
    • High overlay and registration accuracy: Instrument design choices (air-bearing stages, interferometry, and active thermal compensation) engineered for multi-layer quantum circuits.
    • Maskless agility: Rapid iteration, fewer tooling bottlenecks and lower development cost for prototyping.
    • Application expertise: We partner with research labs and manufacturers to adapt process flows for superconducting, photonic and 2D material platforms.

    Tell us your platform (superconducting, photonic, spin/semiconductor, 2D) and we’ll recommend the best toolchain and process approach. Contact our experts to discuss your device requirements or request detailed specs.

  • Requirements

  • Ultra-high resolution patterning for well-defined structures (e.g., for tunneling gaps or plasmonic cavities)

    Damage-free lithography, without deleterious effects on quantum materials (e.g., topological insulators)

    Fast and accurate placement of electrodes on low-dimensional materials with unknown positions (2D material flakes, dispersed nanowires, etc.)

    The grayscale environment and topography can be crucial for fine-tuning photon interactions in quantum devices

    Rapid prototyping is a significant advantage in a dynamic research field

  • Solutions

  • Ultra-high resolution

    Required for well-defined features and gaps with low edge roughness

    Damage-free nanolithography (NanoFrazor)

    Non-destructive technique without using high-energy charged beams allows working with sensitive materials

    Accurate overlay

    Possible by simply drawing the electrodes onto the topography or optical image (NanoFrazor & MLA series)

    Accurate grayscale lithography

    Used for control of grayscale topographies down to the single nanometer

Quantum devices demand a level of precision and reproducibility far beyond conventional microfabrication. Coherence times and device performance are set by microscopic features, interfaces and alignment, so lithography must deliver high uniformity and true overlay for reliable multi-layer devices. Heidelberg Instruments provides a continuum of maskless and direct-write lithography solutions engineered to solve the fabrication challenges at every stage of the quantum device lifecycle.

Why Lithography is Mission-Critical for Quantum Devices

  • Protecting coherence: Microscopic defects, edge roughness, or misalignment from the lithography step can directly introduce noise and decoherence, limiting qubit performance.
  • High-fidelity 2.5D patterning: Many quantum architectures require vertical/topographic control as well as lateral resolution.
  • Multi-layer registration: Accurate overlay is essential for multi-layer wiring, junctions and photonic stacks.
  • Scale without compromise: Moving from single-qubit experiments to thousands or millions of qubits demands manufacturable processes with tight tolerance and high throughput.

Solutions Mapped to Your Development Path

Discovery and Fundamental Research: NanoFrazor

When you need the very highest fidelity for novel device concepts, the NanoFrazor’s thermal scanning probe lithography (t-SPL) provides unmatched control for nanoscale and 2.5D features.

  • Sub-2 nm vertical precision via Closed-Loop Lithography (in-situ imaging + feedback) – ideal for grayscale topographies and precise tunnel barriers.
  • Direct-write with inspection: simultaneous writing and imaging lets you verify structures during fabrication.
  • Targeted device fabrication: quantum dots, Josephson junctions, patterned 1D/2D materials.
  • Eliminates wet-chemistry uncertainties, minimizing process damage to sensitive materials.

Rapid Prototyping and Multi-User R&D: DWL 66+ and MLA 150

Speed and flexibility accelerate iteration cycles and enable creative architectures to be explored quickly. Maskless workflows remove turnaround time and mask costs.

DWL 66+
  • High-resolution direct writing with minimum feature sizes down to ~200 nm – fast CAD-to-substrate workflow.
  • Reduce e-beam workload by using DWL for larger features and prototypes while reserving e-beam for the smallest, slowest tasks.
MLA 150
  • Interactive ‘Draw Mode’ for precise electrode placement on unique flakes and heterostructures.
  • Advanced alignment with digital compensation for offset, rotation and scale – crucial for multi-layer quantum stacks.
  • Engineered for multi-user facilities with high uptime, fast onboarding (<1 hour), and accessible operation.

Scale and Production: ULTRA, VPG+, and MLA 300

When a device design is proven, reliable, repeatable and high-throughput lithography is required for manufacturing.

  • Production-ready nanoscale precision and high overlay accuracy for multi-layer superconducting circuits, photonic quantum chips and arrays of quantum dots.
  • Robust mechanical platform (air-bearing stages, differential interferometry) for superior registration and repeatability.
  • Full automation & mask handling to reduce cycle times and ensure consistent yield at scale.
  • MLA 300 enables advanced packaging of quantum chips.

Technical Differentiators: What sets us apart

  • Portfolio continuity: Tools that integrate from single-qubit experiments to mass production without breaking process continuity.
  • Closed-Loop Metrology: In-situ imaging and feedback (NanoFrazor) to reduce process uncertainty.
  • High overlay and registration accuracy: Instrument design choices (air-bearing stages, interferometry, and active thermal compensation) engineered for multi-layer quantum circuits.
  • Maskless agility: Rapid iteration, fewer tooling bottlenecks and lower development cost for prototyping.
  • Application expertise: We partner with research labs and manufacturers to adapt process flows for superconducting, photonic and 2D material platforms.

Tell us your platform (superconducting, photonic, spin/semiconductor, 2D) and we’ll recommend the best toolchain and process approach. Contact our experts to discuss your device requirements or request detailed specs.

Ultra-high resolution patterning for well-defined structures (e.g., for tunneling gaps or plasmonic cavities)

Damage-free lithography, without deleterious effects on quantum materials (e.g., topological insulators)

Fast and accurate placement of electrodes on low-dimensional materials with unknown positions (2D material flakes, dispersed nanowires, etc.)

The grayscale environment and topography can be crucial for fine-tuning photon interactions in quantum devices

Rapid prototyping is a significant advantage in a dynamic research field

Ultra-high resolution

Required for well-defined features and gaps with low edge roughness

Damage-free nanolithography (NanoFrazor)

Non-destructive technique without using high-energy charged beams allows working with sensitive materials

Accurate overlay

Possible by simply drawing the electrodes onto the topography or optical image (NanoFrazor & MLA series)

Accurate grayscale lithography

Used for control of grayscale topographies down to the single nanometer

Application images

quantum device example: waveguide patterned in positive resist
Waveguide 2 µm wide patterned with the DWL 66+ (WM HiRes @ 405 nm) in a positive resist AZ 1512 HS.
quantum device example: 2 µm lines and circles in thick positive resist
2 µm lines and circles in a 1.5 µm thick positive resist. The distance between the lines and circles is 500 nm. Results obtained with the DWL 66+.
quantum device example: rings exposed with MLA 150
Rings exposed with a MLA 150 (WM I @ 375 nm) in a negative resist ma-N1405, diameter: 12 µm, width: 800 nm, thickness: 800 nm
quantum device example: exposure showing 2 µm lines on a DWL 66+
Exposure showing 2 µm lines on a DWL 66+ laser lithography system. The distance between the lines and circles is 500 nm.
An array of SQUIDs (superconducting quantum inteference device)
MLA 150: An array of SQUIDs (superconducting quantum interference device) used for the readout of metallic magnetic microcalorimeters (high-resolution particle detectors operated at low temperatures). (Courtesy of the Kirchhoff Institute for Physics (KIP), Heidelberg University)
quantum device example: atomic memristors
Sharp vertical Ag electrodes made with the NanoFrazor tip. (Courtesy of Prof. Leuthold group, ETH Zurich, Publication in 2019)
example of quantum devices: AFM image of an MBE-grown Ge nanoribbon
AFM image of an MBE-grown Ge nanoribbon (blue line in the inset) with top gates patterned by NanoFrazor. The device is fabricated in order to study the topological states in the ribbon. (Courtesy of Prof. Georgios Katsaros, IST Austria and Heidelberg Instruments Nano)
quantum devices example: Silicon quantum dot single electron transistors
Silicon quantum dot single electron transistors fabricated with the NanoFrazor.
quantum devices example: Photonic molecules
Gaussians with varying distance ∆x fabricated using PPA lithography and transferred onto a SiO2 substrate, to be stacked in a distributed Bragg reflector, forming a photonic molecule structure. A precise Gaussian profile is patterned using the NanoFrazor and the closed-loop lithography approach. (Courtesy of IBM Research Zurich, publication in 2018)

Suitable Systems

µMLA Tabletop Maskless Aligner

µMLA Maskless Aligner

  • Maskless Aligner

Configurable and compact tabletop maskless aligner with raster scan and vector exposure modules.

DWL 66+

DWL 66+ Laser Lithography System

  • Direct Write Laser Lithography System

Our most versatile system for research and prototyping with variable resolution and wide selection of options.

DWL 4000 GS Laser Lithography System

DWL 2000 GS / DWL 4000 GS Laser Lithography Systems

  • Direct Write Laser Lithography System

The most advanced industrial grayscale lithography tool on the market.

MLA 150 Maskless Aligner

MLA 150 Maskless Aligner

  • Maskless Aligner

The fastest maskless tool for rapid prototyping, the alternative to the mask aligners. Perfect for standard binary lithography.

NanoFrazor tabletop

NanoFrazor Nanolithography Tool

  • Thermal Scanning Probe Lithography System

Versatile & modular tool combining Thermal Scanning Probe Lithography, Direct Laser Sublimation, and advanced automation for cutting-edge R&D. 

VPG+ 800 Volume Pattern Generator

VPG+ 200 / VPG+ 400 / VPG+ 800 Volume Pattern Generators

  • Volume Pattern Generator

Powerful production tools for standard photomasks and microstructures in i-line resists.

ULTRA Semiconductor Mask Writer

ULTRA Semiconductor Mask Writer

  • Laser Mask Writer

A tool specifically designed to produce mature semiconductor photomasks.

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