Nebula Cluster: Pretty From All Angles

When one of our Nebula cluster tools is out on the shop floor, it dominates everyone’s attention. These impressive systems feature multiple chambers that adhere to our partners specific requirements. They can include any type of physical vapor deposition (PVD) source, chemical vapor deposition (CVD), atomic layer deposition (ALD), ion beam etching, substrate cleaning and encapsulation. All manner of stage options (like heating, cooling, biasing, and glancing angle) are available, and these cluster tools always have a fun array of substrate transfer, automatic mask exchange chambers, and robotic capabilities.

The custom software that we developed for the complicated recipes that can simultaneously run in this cluster is part of what sets it apart. Auto-tuning PID, multiple source deposition control, fully integrated temperature and motion control make the Nebula cluster a piece of scientific engineering we’re proud of.

“I am excited about offering the Nebula system to our partners,” says Angstrom Engineering President Dave Pitts, “it will further enhance their capabilities to produce truly world-class results. The accuracy and flexibility of the system will increase the complexity of the devices that can be created while also increasing the repeatability of the results and the throughput with which they are created.”

The potential of these systems gets us excited about the incredible breakthroughs in science and technology that we will get to play a part in.

We call the robot on this cluster Steve. Steve is precise, consistent, reliable and nearly maintenance free.

Having arrived in Brazil, our partner’s logistics team takes the lead, taking it out of the wooden box so that it can fit through the door of the facility. The journey resulted in the standard small bumps and dents that are categorized and logged so that our installation team can quickly and effectively get the system up and running, which they do.

Finally, all that’s left to do is to fabricate some superconducting circuits, and further the field of quantum computing. Our partners at Centro Brasileiro de Pesquisas Fisicas (CBPF) expressed their excitement at having gained the capabilities  of partnering with us in this translated LinkedIn post:

 

It is with great enthusiasm that we announce the arrival of the newest equipment, from Angstrom Engineering, to the Quantum Technologies Laboratory of CBPF. This laboratory is complementary to Labnano, one of the strategic laboratories of SisNANO – the National System of Nanotechnology Laboratories of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MCTI).

SisNANO is comprised of a set of laboratories focused on research, development and innovation (RD&I) in nanosciences and nanotechnologies, with the essential characteristic of being multi-user and open access to public and private institutions.

Acquired with funding from Finep and support from MCTI, the new equipment will allow CBPF to advance in the manufacture of superconducting quantum nanodevices, such as Josephson junctions and SQUIDS. These devices are essential for the development of future quantum chips, which promise to transform areas such as computing, secure communication and metrology.

The impact of this advance is also connected to related projects funded by FAPERJ, CNPq and Petrobras, consolidating a robust research ecosystem in Brazil.

This achievement reinforces the commitment of CBPF and MCTI to leading the frontier of scientific research, contributing to enabling the country to compete in a global scenario marked by disruptive and strategic advances.

We would like to thank the institutions involved and the professionals who made this achievement possible. We invite the scientific, technological and industrial community to closely monitor the transformative results that this new infrastructure will provide.