Superconductive IC Manufacturing

Manufacturing integrated circuits is a complex and intricate process, both for semiconductor and superconductive electronics. Despite the minimum feature size and number of layers in modern SCE technology being less deeply scaled as compared to semiconductor technologies, numerous challenges exist in manufacturing superconductive electronics. The materials used during the different fabrication steps interact in complex mechanical, chemical, and electrical ways, requiring adjustments to the manufacturing process. These issues are exacerbated by the high sensitivity of superconductive circuits to process variations. In this chapter, the different steps and materials used in the manufacturing process of superconductive circuits are described. Challenges unique to superconductive electronics are highlighted. Important features of modern superconductive fabrication technologies are discussed and compared to the fabrication of semiconductor-based integrated circuits.