WO2018063202A1 - Dispositifs à points quantiques à contrainte - Google Patents

Dispositifs à points quantiques à contrainte Download PDF

Info

Publication number
WO2018063202A1
WO2018063202A1 PCT/US2016/054291 US2016054291W WO2018063202A1 WO 2018063202 A1 WO2018063202 A1 WO 2018063202A1 US 2016054291 W US2016054291 W US 2016054291W WO 2018063202 A1 WO2018063202 A1 WO 2018063202A1
Authority
WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
quantum well
quantum
gates
layer
well layer
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/US2016/054291
Other languages
English (en)
Inventor
Jeanette M. Roberts
Ravi Pillarisetty
David J. Michalak
Zachary R. YOSCOVITS
James S. Clarke
Van H. Le
Original Assignee
Intel Corporation
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Intel Corporation filed Critical Intel Corporation
Priority to PCT/US2016/054291 priority Critical patent/WO2018063202A1/fr
Publication of WO2018063202A1 publication Critical patent/WO2018063202A1/fr

Links

Classifications

    • BPERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B82NANOTECHNOLOGY
    • B82YSPECIFIC USES OR APPLICATIONS OF NANOSTRUCTURES; MEASUREMENT OR ANALYSIS OF NANOSTRUCTURES; MANUFACTURE OR TREATMENT OF NANOSTRUCTURES
    • B82Y10/00Nanotechnology for information processing, storage or transmission, e.g. quantum computing or single electron logic
    • BPERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B82NANOTECHNOLOGY
    • B82YSPECIFIC USES OR APPLICATIONS OF NANOSTRUCTURES; MEASUREMENT OR ANALYSIS OF NANOSTRUCTURES; MANUFACTURE OR TREATMENT OF NANOSTRUCTURES
    • B82Y40/00Manufacture or treatment of nanostructures
    • HELECTRICITY
    • H01ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01LSEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
    • H01L29/00Semiconductor devices adapted for rectifying, amplifying, oscillating or switching, or capacitors or resistors with at least one potential-jump barrier or surface barrier, e.g. PN junction depletion layer or carrier concentration layer; Details of semiconductor bodies or of electrodes thereof  ; Multistep manufacturing processes therefor
    • H01L29/02Semiconductor bodies ; Multistep manufacturing processes therefor
    • H01L29/12Semiconductor bodies ; Multistep manufacturing processes therefor characterised by the materials of which they are formed
    • HELECTRICITY
    • H01ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01LSEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
    • H01L29/00Semiconductor devices adapted for rectifying, amplifying, oscillating or switching, or capacitors or resistors with at least one potential-jump barrier or surface barrier, e.g. PN junction depletion layer or carrier concentration layer; Details of semiconductor bodies or of electrodes thereof  ; Multistep manufacturing processes therefor
    • H01L29/40Electrodes ; Multistep manufacturing processes therefor
    • H01L29/41Electrodes ; Multistep manufacturing processes therefor characterised by their shape, relative sizes or dispositions
    • H01L29/423Electrodes ; Multistep manufacturing processes therefor characterised by their shape, relative sizes or dispositions not carrying the current to be rectified, amplified or switched
    • HELECTRICITY
    • H01ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01LSEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
    • H01L29/00Semiconductor devices adapted for rectifying, amplifying, oscillating or switching, or capacitors or resistors with at least one potential-jump barrier or surface barrier, e.g. PN junction depletion layer or carrier concentration layer; Details of semiconductor bodies or of electrodes thereof  ; Multistep manufacturing processes therefor
    • H01L29/40Electrodes ; Multistep manufacturing processes therefor
    • H01L29/41Electrodes ; Multistep manufacturing processes therefor characterised by their shape, relative sizes or dispositions
    • H01L29/423Electrodes ; Multistep manufacturing processes therefor characterised by their shape, relative sizes or dispositions not carrying the current to be rectified, amplified or switched
    • H01L29/42312Gate electrodes for field effect devices
    • H01L29/42316Gate electrodes for field effect devices for field-effect transistors
    • H01L29/4232Gate electrodes for field effect devices for field-effect transistors with insulated gate
    • H01L29/42372Gate electrodes for field effect devices for field-effect transistors with insulated gate characterised by the conducting layer, e.g. the length, the sectional shape or the lay-out
    • H01L29/42376Gate electrodes for field effect devices for field-effect transistors with insulated gate characterised by the conducting layer, e.g. the length, the sectional shape or the lay-out characterised by the length or the sectional shape
    • HELECTRICITY
    • H01ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01LSEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
    • H01L29/00Semiconductor devices adapted for rectifying, amplifying, oscillating or switching, or capacitors or resistors with at least one potential-jump barrier or surface barrier, e.g. PN junction depletion layer or carrier concentration layer; Details of semiconductor bodies or of electrodes thereof  ; Multistep manufacturing processes therefor
    • H01L29/66Types of semiconductor device ; Multistep manufacturing processes therefor
    • HELECTRICITY
    • H01ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01LSEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
    • H01L29/00Semiconductor devices adapted for rectifying, amplifying, oscillating or switching, or capacitors or resistors with at least one potential-jump barrier or surface barrier, e.g. PN junction depletion layer or carrier concentration layer; Details of semiconductor bodies or of electrodes thereof  ; Multistep manufacturing processes therefor
    • H01L29/66Types of semiconductor device ; Multistep manufacturing processes therefor
    • H01L29/66977Quantum effect devices, e.g. using quantum reflection, diffraction or interference effects, i.e. Bragg- or Aharonov-Bohm effects
    • HELECTRICITY
    • H01ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01LSEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
    • H01L29/00Semiconductor devices adapted for rectifying, amplifying, oscillating or switching, or capacitors or resistors with at least one potential-jump barrier or surface barrier, e.g. PN junction depletion layer or carrier concentration layer; Details of semiconductor bodies or of electrodes thereof  ; Multistep manufacturing processes therefor
    • H01L29/66Types of semiconductor device ; Multistep manufacturing processes therefor
    • H01L29/68Types of semiconductor device ; Multistep manufacturing processes therefor controllable by only the electric current supplied, or only the electric potential applied, to an electrode which does not carry the current to be rectified, amplified or switched
    • H01L29/76Unipolar devices, e.g. field effect transistors
    • H01L29/772Field effect transistors
    • H01L29/80Field effect transistors with field effect produced by a PN or other rectifying junction gate, i.e. potential-jump barrier
    • HELECTRICITY
    • H01ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01LSEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
    • H01L29/00Semiconductor devices adapted for rectifying, amplifying, oscillating or switching, or capacitors or resistors with at least one potential-jump barrier or surface barrier, e.g. PN junction depletion layer or carrier concentration layer; Details of semiconductor bodies or of electrodes thereof  ; Multistep manufacturing processes therefor
    • H01L29/02Semiconductor bodies ; Multistep manufacturing processes therefor
    • H01L29/06Semiconductor bodies ; Multistep manufacturing processes therefor characterised by their shape; characterised by the shapes, relative sizes, or dispositions of the semiconductor regions ; characterised by the concentration or distribution of impurities within semiconductor regions
    • H01L29/0657Semiconductor bodies ; Multistep manufacturing processes therefor characterised by their shape; characterised by the shapes, relative sizes, or dispositions of the semiconductor regions ; characterised by the concentration or distribution of impurities within semiconductor regions characterised by the shape of the body
    • H01L29/0665Semiconductor bodies ; Multistep manufacturing processes therefor characterised by their shape; characterised by the shapes, relative sizes, or dispositions of the semiconductor regions ; characterised by the concentration or distribution of impurities within semiconductor regions characterised by the shape of the body the shape of the body defining a nanostructure
    • H01L29/0669Nanowires or nanotubes
    • H01L29/0673Nanowires or nanotubes oriented parallel to a substrate
    • HELECTRICITY
    • H01ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01LSEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
    • H01L29/00Semiconductor devices adapted for rectifying, amplifying, oscillating or switching, or capacitors or resistors with at least one potential-jump barrier or surface barrier, e.g. PN junction depletion layer or carrier concentration layer; Details of semiconductor bodies or of electrodes thereof  ; Multistep manufacturing processes therefor
    • H01L29/02Semiconductor bodies ; Multistep manufacturing processes therefor
    • H01L29/12Semiconductor bodies ; Multistep manufacturing processes therefor characterised by the materials of which they are formed
    • H01L29/122Single quantum well structures
    • H01L29/127Quantum box structures
    • HELECTRICITY
    • H01ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01LSEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
    • H01L29/00Semiconductor devices adapted for rectifying, amplifying, oscillating or switching, or capacitors or resistors with at least one potential-jump barrier or surface barrier, e.g. PN junction depletion layer or carrier concentration layer; Details of semiconductor bodies or of electrodes thereof  ; Multistep manufacturing processes therefor
    • H01L29/02Semiconductor bodies ; Multistep manufacturing processes therefor
    • H01L29/12Semiconductor bodies ; Multistep manufacturing processes therefor characterised by the materials of which they are formed
    • H01L29/16Semiconductor bodies ; Multistep manufacturing processes therefor characterised by the materials of which they are formed including, apart from doping materials or other impurities, only elements of Group IV of the Periodic System
    • H01L29/161Semiconductor bodies ; Multistep manufacturing processes therefor characterised by the materials of which they are formed including, apart from doping materials or other impurities, only elements of Group IV of the Periodic System including two or more of the elements provided for in group H01L29/16, e.g. alloys
    • H01L29/165Semiconductor bodies ; Multistep manufacturing processes therefor characterised by the materials of which they are formed including, apart from doping materials or other impurities, only elements of Group IV of the Periodic System including two or more of the elements provided for in group H01L29/16, e.g. alloys in different semiconductor regions, e.g. heterojunctions

Definitions

  • Quantum computing refers to the field of research related to computation systems that use quantum mechanical phenomena to manipulate data. These quantum mechanical phenomena, such as superposition (in which a quantum variable can simultaneously exist in multiple different states) and entanglement (in which multiple quantum variables have related states irrespective of the distance between them in space or time), do not have analogs in the world of classical computing, and thus cannot be implemented with classical computing devices.
  • FIGS. 1-3 are cross-sectional views of a quantum dot device, in accordance with various embodiments.
  • FIGS. 4-30 illustrate various example stages in the manufacture of a quantum dot device, in accordance with various embodiments.
  • FIG. 31 is a cross-sectional view of another embodiment of a quantum dot device.
  • FIGS. 32-49 illustrate various example stages in the manufacture of the quantum dot device of FIG. 31, in accordance with various embodiments.
  • FIGS. 50-54 are cross-sectional views of various examples of quantum well stacks that may be used in a quantum dot device, in accordance with various embodiments.
  • FIG. 55 illustrates an embodiment of a quantum dot device having multiple groups of gates on a single quantum well stack, in accordance with various embodiments.
  • FIG. 56 is a cross-sectional view of another embodiment of a quantum dot device.
  • FIGS. 57-58 illustrate various example stages in the manufacture of the quantum dot device of FIG. 56, in accordance with various embodiments.
  • FIG. 59 is a cross-sectional view of a quantum dot device with multiple interconnect layers, in accordance with various embodiments.
  • FIG. 60 is a cross-sectional view of a quantum dot device package, in accordance with various embodiments.
  • FIGS. 61A and 61B are top views of a wafer and dies that may include any of the quantum dot devices disclosed herein.
  • FIG. 62 is a cross-sectional side view of a device assembly that may include any of the quantum dot devices disclosed herein.
  • FIG. 63 is a flow diagram of an illustrative method of manufacturing a quantum dot device, in accordance with various embodiments.
  • FIG. 64 is a flow diagram of an illustrative method of operating a quantum dot device, in accordance with various embodiments.
  • FIG. 65 is a block diagram of an example quantum computing device that may include any of the quantum dot devices disclosed herein, in accordance with various embodiments.
  • a quantum dot device may include: a quantum well stack including a barrier layer and a quantum well layer; gates disposed on the quantum well stack such that the barrier layer is disposed between the gates and the quantum well layer; and strain material regions that extend through the barrier layer and into the quantum well layer.
  • a quantum dot device may include: a quantum well stack including a quantum well layer; first gates disposed on the quantum well stack in an array, wherein each first gate has a spacer disposed on either side of the first gate; one or more second gates disposed between adjacent ones of the first gates; and lattice mismatch regions disposed under the spacers, extending into the quantum well layer.
  • the quantum dot devices disclosed herein may enable the formation of quantum dots to serve as quantum bits ("qubits") in a quantum computing device, as well as the control of these quantum dots to perform quantum logic operations. Unlike previous approaches to quantum dot formation and manipulation, various embodiments of the quantum dot devices disclosed herein provide strong spatial localization of the quantum dots (and therefore good control over quantum dot interactions and manipulation), good scalability in the number of quantum dots included in the device, and/or design flexibility in making electrical connections to the quantum dot devices to integrate the quantum dot devices in larger computing devices.
  • the phrase “A and/or B” means (A), (B), or (A and B).
  • the phrase “A, B, and/or C” means (A), (B), (C), (A and B), (A and C), (B and C), or (A, B, and C).
  • the term “between,” when used with reference to measurement ranges, is inclusive of the ends of the measurement ranges.
  • the notation "A/B/C” means (A), (B), and/or (C).
  • FIGS. 1-3 are cross-sectional views of a quantum dot device 100, in accordance with various embodiments.
  • FIG. 2 illustrates the quantum dot device 100 taken along the section A- A of FIG. 1 (while FIG. 1 illustrates the quantum dot device 100 taken along the section C-C of FIG. 2)
  • FIG. 3 illustrates the quantum dot device 100 taken along the section B-B of FIG. 1 with a number of components not shown to more readily illustrate how the gates 106/108 may be patterned (while FIG. 1 illustrates a quantum dot device 100 taken along the section D-D of FIG. 3).
  • FIG. 1 indicates that the cross section illustrated in FIG. 2 is taken through the fin 104-1, an analogous cross section taken through the fin 104-2 may be identical, and thus the discussion of FIG. 2 refers generally to the "fin 104.”
  • the quantum dot device 100 may include multiple fins 104 spaced apart by insulating material 128.
  • the fins 104 may include a quantum well stack 147, which may include a quantum well layer 152-1 and a quantum well layer 152-2 spaced apart by a barrier layer 154.
  • the quantum well stack 147 may be formed as part of a material stack 146, examples of which are discussed in detail below with reference to FIGS. 50-54.
  • the insulating material 128 may be lattice-mismatched with the material of the quantum well layers 152, and thus may induce strain in the quantum well layers 152.
  • the insulating material 128 may be silicon germanium of a desired germanium content.
  • the total number of fins 104 included in the quantum dot device 100 is an even number, with the fins 104 organized into pairs including one active fin 104 and one read fin 104, as discussed in detail below.
  • the fins 104 may be arranged in pairs in a line (e.g., 2N fins total may be arranged in a lx2N line, or a 2xN line) or in pairs in a larger array (e.g., 2N fins total may be arranged as a 4xN/2 array, a 6xN/3 array, etc.).
  • a line e.g., 2N fins total may be arranged in a lx2N line, or a 2xN line
  • a larger array e.g., 2N fins total may be arranged as a 4xN/2 array, a 6xN/3 array, etc.
  • each of the fins 104 may include two quantum well layers 152.
  • the quantum well layers 152 included in the fins 104 may be arranged normal to the z-direction, and may provide layers in which a two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) may form to enable the generation of a quantum dot during operation of the quantum dot device 100, as discussed in further detail below.
  • the quantum well layers 152 themselves may provide a geometric constraint on the z-location of quantum dots in the fins 104, and the limited extent of the fins 104 (and therefore the quantum well layers 152) in the y-direction may provide a geometric constraint on the y-location of quantum dots in the fins 104.
  • the fins 104 may be applied to gates disposed on the fins 104 to adjust the energy profile along the fins 104 in the x-direction and thereby constrain the x-location of quantum dots within quantum wells (discussed in detail below with reference to the gates 106/108).
  • the dimensions of the fins 104 may take any suitable values.
  • the fins 104 may each have a width 162 between 10 and 30 nanometers.
  • the fins 104 may each have a height 164 between 200 and 400 nanometers (e.g., between 250 and 350 nanometers, or equal to 300 nanometers).
  • the fins 104 may be arranged in parallel, as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 3, and may be spaced apart by an insulating material 128, which may be disposed on opposite faces of the fins 104.
  • the insulating material 128 may be a dielectric material, such as silicon oxide.
  • the fins 104 may be spaced apart by a distance 160 between 100 and 250
  • Multiple gates may be disposed on each of the fins 104.
  • a first set of gates 105- 1 may be disposed proximate to the "bottom" of each fin 104
  • a second set of gates 105-2 may be disposed proximate to the "top” of each fin 104.
  • the first set of gates 105-1 includes three gates 106-1 and two gates 108-1
  • the second set of gates 105-2 includes three gates 106-2 and two gates 108-2.
  • This particular number of gates is simply illustrative, and any suitable number of gates may be used.
  • multiple sets of the gates 105-1 and 105-2 may be disposed on the fin 104.
  • the gate 108-11 may be disposed between the gates 106-11 and 106-12, and the gate 108-12 may be disposed between the gates 106-12 and 106-13.
  • the gates 106-21, 108- 21, 106-22, 108-22, and 106-23 are distributed along the fin 104 analogously to the distribution of the gates 106-11, 108-11, 106-12, 108-12, and 106-13 (of the set of gates 105-1).
  • References to a "gate 106" herein may refer to any of the gates 106, while reference to a "gate 108" herein may refer to any of the gates 108.
  • gates 106-1 herein may refer to any of the gates 106 of the first set of gates 105-1 (and analogously for the “gates 106-2") and reference to the "gates 108-1” herein may refer to any of the gates 108 of the first set of gates 105-1 (and analogously for the "gates 108-2").
  • Each of the gates 106/108 may include a gate dielectric 114 (e.g., the gate dielectric 114-1 for the gates 106-1/108-1, and the gate dielectric 114-2 for the gates 106-2/108-2).
  • the gate dielectric 114 for each of the gates 106/108 in a particular set of gates 105 may be provided by separate portions of gate dielectric 114.
  • the gate dielectric 114 may be a multilayer gate dielectric (e.g., with multiple materials used to improve the interface between the fin 104 and the corresponding gate metal).
  • the gate dielectric 114 may be, for example, silicon oxide, aluminum oxide, or a high-k dielectric, such as hafnium oxide.
  • the gate dielectric 114 may include elements such as hafnium, silicon, oxygen, titanium, tantalum, lanthanum, aluminum, zirconium, barium, strontium, yttrium, lead, scandium, niobium, and zinc.
  • Examples of materials that may be used in the gate dielectric 114 may include, but are not limited to, hafnium oxide, hafnium silicon oxide, lanthanum oxide, lanthanum aluminum oxide, zirconium oxide, zirconium silicon oxide, tantalum oxide, titanium oxide, barium strontium titanium oxide, barium titanium oxide, strontium titanium oxide, yttrium oxide, aluminum oxide, tantalum oxide, tantalum silicon oxide, lead scandium tantalum oxide, and lead zinc niobate.
  • an annealing process may be carried out on the gate dielectric 114 to improve the quality of the gate dielectric 114.
  • the gate dielectric 114-1 may be a same material as the gate dielectric 114-2, or a different material.
  • Each of the gates 106-1 may include a gate metal 110-1.
  • the gate dielectric 114-1 may be disposed between the gate metal 110-1 and the quantum well stack 147.
  • the gate metal 110-1 may be a superconductor, such as aluminum, titanium nitride (e.g., deposited via atomic layer deposition), or niobium titanium nitride.
  • the sides of the gate metal 110-1 may be substantially parallel, as shown in FIG. 2, and insulating spacers 134-1 may be disposed on the sides of the gate metal 110-1. As illustrated in FIG. 2, the spacers 134-1 may be thinner farther from the fin 104 and thicker closer to the fin 104.
  • the spacers 134-1 may have a convex shape.
  • the spacers 134-1 may be formed of any suitable material, such as a carbon-doped oxide, silicon nitride, silicon oxide, or other carbides or nitrides (e.g., silicon carbide, silicon nitride doped with carbon, and silicon oxynitride).
  • Each of the gates 108-1 may include a gate metal 112-1.
  • the gate dielectric 114-1 may be disposed between the gate metal 112-1 and the quantum well stack 147.
  • the gate metal 112-1 may be a different metal from the gate metal 110-1; in other embodiments, the gate metal 112-1 and the gate metal 110-1 may have the same material composition.
  • the gate metal 112-1 may be a superconductor, such as aluminum, titanium nitride (e.g., deposited via atomic layer deposition), or niobium titanium nitride.
  • Each of the gates 106-2 may include a gate metal 110-2 and a hardmask 116-2.
  • the hardmask 116-2 may be formed of silicon nitride, silicon carbide, or another suitable material.
  • the gate metal 110-2 may be disposed between the hardmask 116-2 and the gate dielectric 114-2, and the gate dielectric 114-2 may be disposed between the gate metal 110-2 and the fin 104. Only one portion of the hardmask 116-2 is labeled in FIG. 2 for ease of illustration.
  • the gate metal 110-2 may be a superconductor, such as aluminum, titanium nitride (e.g., deposited via atomic layer deposition), or niobium titanium nitride.
  • the hardmask 116-2 may not be present in the quantum dot device 100 (e.g., a hardmask like the hardmask 116-2 may be removed during processing, as discussed below).
  • the sides of the gate metal 110-2 may be substantially parallel, as shown in FIG. 2, and insulating spacers 134-2 may be disposed on the sides of the gate metal 110-2 and the hardmask 116-2.
  • the spacers 134-2 may be thicker closer to the fin 104 and thinner farther away from the fin 104.
  • the spacers 134-2 may have a convex shape.
  • the spacers 134-2 may be formed of any suitable material, such as a carbon-doped oxide, silicon nitride, silicon oxide, or other carbides or nitrides (e.g., silicon carbide, silicon nitride doped with carbon, and silicon oxynitride).
  • the gate metal 110-2 may be a different metal from the gate metal 110-1; in other embodiments, the gate metal 110-2 and the gate metal 110-1 may have the same material composition.
  • Each of the gates 108-2 may include a gate metal 112-2 and a hardmask 118-2.
  • the hardmask 118-2 may be formed of any of the materials discussed above with reference to the hardmask 116-2.
  • the gate metal 112-2 may be disposed between the hardmask 118-2 and the gate dielectric 114-2, and the gate dielectric 114-2 may be disposed between the gate metal 112-2 and the fin 104.
  • the hardmask 118-2 may extend over the hardmask 116-2 (and over the gate metal 110-2 of the gates 106-2), while in other embodiments, the hardmask 118-2 may not extend over the gate metal 110-.
  • the gate metal 112-2 may be a different metal from the gate metal 110-2; in other embodiments, the gate metal 112-2 and the gate metal 110-2 may have the same material composition. In some embodiments, the gate metal 112-2 may be a different metal from the gate metal 112-1; in other embodiments, the gate metal 112-2 and the gate metal 112-1 may have the same material composition. In some embodiments, the gate metal 112-2 may be a superconductor, such as aluminum, titanium nitride (e.g., deposited via atomic layer deposition), or niobium titanium nitride. In some embodiments, the hardmask 118-2 may not be present in the quantum dot device 100 (e.g., a hardmask like the hardmask 118-2 may be removed during processing, as discussed below).
  • the gate 108-11 may extend between the proximate spacers 134-1 on the sides of the gate 106-11 and the gate 106-12, as shown in FIG. 2.
  • the gate metal 112-1 of the gate 108-11 may extend between the spacers 134-1 on the sides of the gate 106-11 and the gate 106-12.
  • the gate metal 112-1 of the gate 108-11 may have a shape that is substantially complementary to the shape of the spacers 134-1, as shown.
  • the gate 108-12 may extend between the proximate spacers 134-1 on the sides of the gate 106-12 and the gate 106-13.
  • the gates 106-2/108-2 and the dielectric material 114-2 of the second set of gates 105-2 may take the form of any of these embodiments of the gates 106-1/108-1 and the dielectric material 114-1. As illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, in some embodiments, the gates 106-1/108-1 may be mirror images of the gates 106-2/108-2 around the quantum well stack 147.
  • the gate dielectric 114 of the gates 108 may extend at least partially up the sides of the associated spacers 134, and the gate metal 112 may extend between the portions of the associated gate dielectric 114 on the associated spacers 134.
  • the dimensions of the gates 106/108 may take any suitable values.
  • the z-height 166 of the gate metal 110 may be between 40 and 75 nanometers (e.g., approximately 50 nanometers); the z-height of the gate metal 112 may be in the same range. In embodiments like the one illustrated in FIG. 2, the z-height of the gate metal 112 may be greater than the z-height of the gate metal 110.
  • the length 168 of the gate metal 110 i.e., in the x-direction
  • the "outermost" gates 106 may have a greater length 168 than the "inner” gates 106 (e.g., the gate 106-2 in the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2).
  • Such longer "outside” gates 106 may provide spatial separation between the doped regions 140 and the areas under the gates 108 and the inner gates 106 in which quantum dots 142 may form, and thus may reduce the perturbations to the potential energy landscape under the gates 108 and the inner gates 106 caused by the doped regions 140.
  • the distance 170 between adjacent ones of the gates 106 may be between 40 and 60 nanometers (e.g., 50
  • the thickness 172 of the spacers 134 may be between 1 and 20 nanometers (e.g., between 3 and 5 nanometers, between 4 and 6 nanometers, between 5 and 15 nanometers, between 15 and 20 nanometers, or between 4 and 7 nanometers). Thicker spacers 134 may provide more room for the etching performed as discussed below with reference to FIG. 18.
  • the length of the gate metal 112 i.e., in the x-direction
  • the gates 106/108 on one fin 104 may extend over the insulating material 128 beyond their respective fins 104 and towards the other fin 104, but may be isolated from their counterpart gates by the intervening insulating material 130 and spacers 134.
  • Multiple strain-inducing regions 151 may be disposed in the quantum well stack 147 to induce strain in one or more of the quantum well layers 152.
  • Strain in the quantum well layer(s) 152 may improve the mobility of the carriers that flow therein, which may improve performance.
  • tensile strain may improve electron mobility (and thus may be useful for quantum dot devices 100 in which electrons are the carriers of interest, as discussed above) and compressive strain may improve hole mobility (and thus may be useful for quantum dot devices 100 in which holes are the carriers of interest, as discussed above).
  • Strain may also increase valley splitting, which may be advantageous for the operation of a quantum dot device 100.
  • multiple strain-inducing regions 151-1 are shown extending from the gates 106-1/108-1 into the quantum well layer 152-1; similarly, multiple strain- inducing regions 151-2 are shown extending from the gates 106-2/108-2 into the quantum well layer 152-2.
  • the strain-inducing regions 151 associated with a particular quantum well layer 152 may have a different lattice constant than the material of the quantum well layer 152, and this lattice "mismatch" may result in tensile or compressive strain in the portion of the quantum well layer 152 between two strain-inducing regions 151.
  • a portion of the quantum well layer 152 between two strain-inducing regions 151 may be compressively strained when the strain-inducing regions 151 have a lattice constant greater than a lattice constant of the quantum well layer 152; analogously, a portion of the quantum well layer 152 between two strain-inducing regions 151 may be tensilely strained when the strain-inducing regions 151 have a lattice constant less than a lattice constant of the quantum well layer 152.
  • each gate 106/108 may be disposed above a corresponding portion of the quantum well layer 152 that is strained by a pair of strain-inducing regions 151.
  • strain-inducing regions 151 may be located proximate to the edges of a gate 106/108; for example, the strain-inducing regions 151 may be located below corresponding spacers 134 disposed at the sides of the gates 106/108. In some embodiments, strain-inducing regions 151 may not be disposed proximate to the boundary between each adjacent pair of gates 106/108, but may instead be distributed with less frequency along a quantum well layer 152 (i.e., fewer strain- inducing regions 151 may be included in the quantum dot device 100 than illustrated in FIG. 2). In some embodiments, more strain-inducing regions 151 may be distributed along a quantum well layer 152 than illustrated in FIG. 2. Generally, any desired number and arrangement of strain- inducing regions 151 may be included in a quantum dot device 100 to achieve desired strain of a quantum well layer 152.
  • a quantum well layer 152 may be located directly below the associated gates 106/108; in such embodiments, a strain-inducing region 151 may extend from the proximate surface of the quantum well stack 147 directly into the quantum well layer 152.
  • one or more additional material layers e.g., one or more barrier layers
  • a strain-inducing region 151 may extend from the proximate surface of the quantum well stack 147 through these additional material layers before extending into the quantum well layer 152.
  • the material(s) included in a strain-inducing region 151 may depend on the material(s) of the associated quantum well layer 152 and the desired amount of induced strain.
  • the strain-inducing region 151 may be silicon germanium with any suitable nonzero germanium content (e.g., silicon germanium with 30% germanium content).
  • the strain-inducing regions 151 may be silicon germanium with any suitable nonzero silicon content (e.g., silicon germanium with 30% silicon content). Any other suitable materials may be used for the strain- inducing regions 151, and a number of examples of material stacks 146 including different quantum well layers 152 are described below with reference to FIGS. 50-54.
  • the strain-inducing regions 151 may be formed in any suitable manner.
  • the material in the strain-inducing regions 151 may be backfilled into recesses formed in the quantum well stack 147, as discussed below with reference to FIGS. 18-20.
  • Other techniques may also be used to form the strain-inducing regions 151 in a quantum dot device 100, as discussed herein.
  • the strain-inducing regions 151 may impart uniaxial strain to the quantum well layer(s) 152 of a quantum dot device 100 (i.e., in the x-direction, as illustrated in FIG. 2).
  • Other techniques for imparting strain to a quantum well layer 152 may include growing the quantum well layer 152 on a thick buffer layer having a different lattice constant; such an approach may impart biaxial strain (i.e., in the x- and y-directions, as illustrated in FIG. 2), but at the expense of a "taller" quantum well stack 147 to accommodate the thick buffer layer.
  • quantum dot devices 100 disclosed herein may achieve advantageously "short" quantum well stacks 147 by imparting uniaxial strain to the quantum well layer(s) 152 via the strain-inducing regions 151, without including a thick buffer layer.
  • Other embodiments of the quantum dot devices 100 disclosed herein may achieve advantageously large strain by including both strain-inducing regions 151 (imparting uniaxial strain) and a buffer layer that is lattice mismatched with the quantum well layer(s) 152 (imparting biaxial strain).
  • the strain-inducing regions 151 may also provide passive potential barriers along a quantum well layer 152.
  • the strain-inducing regions 151 may provide potential barriers between the portions of the quantum well layer 152 under adjacent gates 106/108.
  • the energy characteristics of the strain-inducing regions 151 may be controlled to achieve a desired or expected potential barrier that can be accommodated during operation of the quantum dot device 100.
  • the gates 106 and 108 of each set 105 may be alternatingly arranged along the fin 104 in the x-direction.
  • voltages may be applied to the gates 106-1/108-1 to adjust the potential energy in the quantum well layer 152-1 in the fin 104 to create quantum wells of varying depths in which quantum dots 142-1 may form.
  • voltages may be applied to the gates 106-2/108-2 to adjust the potential energy in the quantum well layer 152-2 in the fin 104 to create quantum wells of varying depths in which quantum dots 142-2 may form.
  • Only one quantum dot 142-1 and one quantum dot 142-2 are labeled with a reference numeral in FIG.
  • the spacers 134 may themselves provide "passive" barriers between quantum wells under the gates 106/108 in the associated quantum well layer 152, and the voltages applied to different ones of the gates 106/108 may adjust the potential energy under the gates 106/108 in the quantum well layer; decreasing the potential energy may form quantum wells, while increasing the potential energy may form quantum barriers.
  • the discussion below may generally refer to gates 106/108, quantum dots 142, and quantum well layers 152. This discussion may apply to the gates 106-1/108- 1, quantum dots 142-1, and quantum well layer 152-1, respectively; to the gates 106-2/108-2, quantum dots 142-2, and quantum well layer 152-2, respectively; or to both.
  • the set 105-1 and/or the quantum well layer 152-1 may be omitted from the quantum dot device 100.
  • the set 105-2 and/or the quantum well layer 152-2 may be omitted from the quantum dot device 100.
  • the fins 104 may include doped regions 140 that may serve as a reservoir of charge carriers for the quantum dot device 100.
  • the doped regions 140-1 may be in conductive contact with the quantum well layer 152-1
  • the doped regions 140-2 may be in conductive contact with the quantum well layer 152-2.
  • an n-type doped region 140 may supply electrons for electron-type quantum dots 142
  • a p-type doped region 140 may supply holes for hole-type quantum dots 142.
  • an interface material 141 may be disposed at a surface of a doped region 140, as shown by the interface material 141-1 at the surface of the doped regions 140-1 and the interface material 141-2 at the surface of the doped regions 140-2.
  • the interface material 141 may facilitate electrical coupling between a conductive contact (e.g., a conductive via 136, as discussed below) and the doped region 140.
  • the interface material 141 may be any suitable metal-semiconductor ohmic contact material; for example, in embodiments in which the doped region 140 includes silicon, the interface material 141 may include nickel silicide, aluminum silicide, titanium silicide, molybdenum silicide, cobalt silicide, tungsten silicide, or platinum silicide (e.g., as discussed below with reference to FIGS. 24-25).
  • the interface material 141 may be a non-silicide compound, such as titanium nitride.
  • the interface material 141 may be a metal (e.g., aluminum, tungsten, or indium).
  • a quantum dot device 100 may include one or more doped layers 137 (discussed below with reference to FIGS. 52-54) in the quantum well stack 147, instead of or in addition to the doped regions 140.
  • a doped layer 137 may serve as a reservoir of charge carriers for the quantum dot device 100.
  • an n-type doped layer may supply electrons for electron- type quantum dots 142
  • a p-type doped layer may supply holes for hole-type quantum dots 142.
  • the doped layer(s) 137 may be spaced apart from the quantum well layer(s) 152 in the quantum well stack 147 (e.g., by one or more barrier layer(s) 154, also not shown in FIGS.
  • the quantum dot device 100 may include conductive pathways to contact the doped layer(s) 137; in embodiments in which two doped layers 137 "replace" the doped regions 140-1 and 140-2, the conductive vias 136 may be part of conductive pathways that make contact to the two doped layers 137. Examples of doped layers 137, barrier layers 154, and quantum well layers 152 are discussed in detail below (e.g., with reference to FIGS. 52-54).
  • the quantum dot devices 100 disclosed herein may be used to form electron-type or hole- type quantum dots 142.
  • the polarity of the voltages applied to the gates 106/108 to form quantum wells/barriers depend on the charge carriers used in the quantum dot device 100.
  • amply negative voltages applied to a gate 106/108 may increase the potential barrier under the gate 106/108
  • amply positive voltages applied to a gate 106/108 may decrease the potential barrier under the gate 106/108 (thereby forming a potential well in the associated quantum well layer 152 in which an electron-type quantum dot 142 may form).
  • amply positive voltages applied to a gate 106/108 may increase the potential barrier under the gate 106/108, and amply negative voltages applied to a gate 106 and 108 may decrease the potential barrier under the gate 106/108 (thereby forming a potential well in the associated quantum well layer 152 in which a hole-type quantum dot 142 may form).
  • the quantum dot devices 100 disclosed herein may be used to form electron-type or hole-type quantum dots.
  • Voltages may be applied to each of the gates 106 and 108 separately to adjust the potential energy in the quantum well layer under the gates 106 and 108, and thereby control the formation of quantum dots 142 under each of the gates 106 and 108. Additionally, the relative potential energy profiles under different ones of the gates 106 and 108 allow the quantum dot device 100 to tune the potential interaction between quantum dots 142 under adjacent gates. For example, if two adjacent quantum dots 142 (e.g., one quantum dot 142-1 under a gate 106-1 and another quantum dot 142-1 under a gate 108-1) are separated by only a short potential barrier, the two quantum dots 142 may interact more strongly than if they were separated by a taller potential barrier. Since the depth of the potential wells/height of the potential barriers under each gate 106/108 may be adjusted by adjusting the voltages on the respective gates 106/108, the differences in potential between adjacent gates 106/108 may be adjusted, and thus the interaction tuned.
  • two adjacent quantum dots 142 e.g., one quantum do
  • the gates 108 may be used as plunger gates to enable the formation of quantum dots 142 under the gates 108, while the gates 106 may be used as barrier gates to adjust the potential barrier between quantum dots 142 formed under adjacent gates 108.
  • the gates 108 may be used as barrier gates, while the gates 106 are used as plunger gates.
  • quantum dots 142 may be formed under all of the gates 106 and 108, or under any desired subset of the gates 106 and 108.
  • Conductive vias and lines may make contact with the gates 106/108, and with the doped regions 140, to enable electrical connection to the gates 106/108 and the doped regions 140 to be made in desired locations. As shown in FIGS.
  • the gates 106-1 may extend away from the fins 104, and conductive vias 120-1 may extend through the insulating material 130-1 to contact the gate metal 110-1 of the gates 106-1.
  • the gates 108-1 may extend away from the fins 104, and conductive vias 122-1 may extend through the insulating material 130-2 to contact the gate metal 112-1 of the gates 108-1.
  • the gates 106-2 may extend away from the fins 104, and conductive vias 120-2 may contact the gates 106-2 (and are drawn in dashed lines in FIG. 2 to indicate their location behind the plane of the drawing).
  • the conductive vias 120-2 may extend through the hardmask 116-2 and the hardmask 118-2 to contact the gate metal 110-2 of the gates 106-2.
  • the gates 108-2 may extend away from the fins 104, and conductive vias 122-2 may contact the gates 108-2 (also drawn in dashed lines in FIG. 2 to indicate their location behind the plane of the drawing).
  • the conductive vias 122-2 may extend through the hardmask 118-2 to contact the gate metal 112-2 of the gates 108-2.
  • Conductive vias 136 may contact the interface material 141 and may thereby make electrical contact with the doped regions 140.
  • the conductive vias 136-1 may extend through the insulating material 130 and make contact with the doped regions 140-1
  • the conductive vias 136-2 may extend through the insulating material 130 and make contact with the doped regions 140-2.
  • the quantum dot device 100 may include further conductive vias and/or lines (not shown) to make electrical contact to the gates 106/108 and/or the doped regions 140, as desired.
  • the conductive vias and lines included in a quantum dot device 100 may include any suitable materials, such as copper, tungsten (deposited, e.g., by CVD), or a superconductor (e.g., aluminum, tin, titanium nitride, niobium titanium nitride, tantalum, niobium, or other niobium compounds such as niobium tin and niobium germanium).
  • the conductive pathways that contact the gates 106-1/108-1 may extend from the gates 106-1/108-1 to a first face 117-1 of the quantum dot device 100, while the conductive pathways that contact the gates 106-2/108-2 (e.g., the conductive vias 120-2 and 122-2) may extend from the gates 106-2/108-2 to a second face 117-2 of the quantum dot device 100.
  • the conductive pathways that contact the doped regions 140-1 may extend from the interface material 141-1 to the first face 117-1 of the quantum dot device 100
  • the conductive pathways that contact the doped regions 140-2 may extend from the interface material 141-2 to the second face 117-2 of the quantum dot device 100.
  • the first face 117-1 and the second face 117-2 may be opposite faces of the quantum dot device 100.
  • the first face 117-1 and the second face 117-2 may be opposing faces of a die (e.g., as discussed below with reference to FIGS. 59 and 60).
  • the quantum dot device 100 may thus be a "double-sided” device in which electrical contact may be made to components within the quantum dot devices 100 through at least two different faces of the quantum dot device 100.
  • all of the conductive pathways in the quantum dot device 100 may extend to the first face 117-1 (or all to the second face 117-2), and the quantum dot device 100 may be a "single-sided" device.
  • a bias voltage may be applied to the doped regions 140 (e.g., via the conductive vias 136 and the interface material 141) to cause current to flow through the doped regions 140.
  • this voltage may be positive; when the doped regions 140 are doped with a p-type material, this voltage may be negative.
  • the magnitude of this bias voltage may take any suitable value (e.g., between 0.25 volts and 2 volts).
  • the conductive vias 120, 122, and 136 may be electrically isolated from each other by an insulating material 130.
  • the insulating material 130 may be any suitable material, such as an interlayer dielectric (ILD). Examples of the insulating material 130 may include silicon oxide, silicon nitride, aluminum oxide, carbon-doped oxide, and/or silicon oxynitride.
  • ILD interlayer dielectric
  • conductive vias and lines may be formed in an iterative process in which layers of structures are formed on top of each other.
  • the conductive vias 120/122/136 may have a width that is 20 nanometers or greater at their widest point (e.g., 30 nanometers), and a pitch of 80 nanometers or greater (e.g., 100 nanometers). In some embodiments,
  • conductive lines (not shown) included in the quantum dot device 100 may have a width that is 100 nanometers or greater, and a pitch of 100 nanometers or greater.
  • the particular arrangement of conductive vias shown in FIGS. 1-3 is simply illustrative, and any electrical routing arrangement may be implemented.
  • the structure of the fin 104-1 may be the same as the structure of the fin 104-2; similarly, the construction of gates 106/108 on the fin 104-1 may be the same as the construction of gates 106/108 on the fin 104-2.
  • the gates 106/108 on the fin 104-1 may be mirrored by corresponding gates 106/108 on the parallel fin 104-2.
  • the insulating material 130-1 and the spacers 134-1 may separate the sets of gates 105-1 on the different fins 104-1 and 104-2, and the insulating material 130-2 and the spacers 134-2 may separate the sets of gates 105-2 on the different fins 104-1 and 104-2.
  • the quantum dots 142-2 in a fin 104 may be used as "active" quantum dots in the sense that these quantum dots 142-2 act as qubits and are controlled (e.g., by voltages applied to the gates 106-2/108-2 of the fin 104-1) to perform quantum computations.
  • the quantum dots 142-1 in a fin 104 may be used as "read” quantum dots in the sense that these quantum dots 142-2 may sense the quantum state of the quantum dots 142-2 in the same fin 104 by detecting the electric field generated by the charge in the quantum dots 142-1, and may convert the quantum state of the quantum dots 142-2 into electrical signals that may be detected by the gates 106-1/108-1.
  • Each quantum dot 142-2 in a fin 104 may be read by its corresponding quantum dot 142-1 in the fin 104.
  • the quantum dot device 100 enables both quantum computation and the ability to read the results of a quantum computation within a single fin, if desired.
  • the quantum dots 142 in the fin 104-1 may be used as "active" quantum dots in the sense that these quantum dots 142 act as qubits and are controlled (e.g., by voltages applied to the gates 106/108 of the fin 104-1) to perform quantum computations.
  • the quantum dots 142 in the fin 104-2 may be used as "read” quantum dots in the sense that these quantum dots 142 may sense the quantum state of the quantum dots 142 in the fin 104-1 by detecting the electric field generated by the charge in the quantum dots 142 in the fin 104-1, and may convert the quantum state of the quantum dots 142 in the fin 104-1 into electrical signals that may be detected by the gates 106/108 on the fin 104-2.
  • Each quantum dot 142 in the fin 104-1 may be read by its corresponding quantum dot 142 in the fin 104-2.
  • the quantum dot device 100 enables both quantum computation and the ability to read the results of a quantum computation across two fins 104.
  • FIGS. 4-30 illustrate various example stages in the manufacture of the quantum dot device 100 of FIGS. 1-3, in accordance with various embodiments. Although the particular manufacturing operations discussed below with reference to FIGS. 4-30 are illustrated as manufacturing a particular embodiment of the quantum dot device 100, these operations may be applied to manufacture many different embodiments of the quantum dot device 100, as discussed herein. Any of the elements discussed below with reference to FIGS. 4-30 may take the form of any of the embodiments of those elements discussed above (or otherwise disclosed herein). For ease of illustration, not all elements in each of FIGS. 4-30 are expressly labeled with reference numerals, but reference numerals for each element are included among the drawings of FIGS. 4-30.
  • FIG. 4 illustrates a cross-sectional view of an assembly 200 including a substrate 144.
  • the substrate 144 may include any suitable material or materials.
  • the substrate 144 may include a semiconductor material.
  • the substrate 144 may include silicon (e.g., may be formed from a silicon wafer).
  • FIG. 5 illustrates a cross-sectional view of an assembly 202 subsequent to providing a material stack 146 on the substrate 144 of the assembly 200 (FIG. 4).
  • the material stack 146 may include a quantum well layer 152-1, a quantum well layer 152-2, and a barrier layer 154 disposed therebetween.
  • a 2DEG may form in the quantum well layer 152-1 and/or the quantum well layer 152-2 during operation of the quantum dot device 100.
  • FIGS. 50-54 Various embodiments of the material stack 146 are discussed below with reference to FIGS. 50-54.
  • FIG. 6 illustrates a cross-sectional view of an assembly 204 subsequent to forming fins 104 in the assembly 202 (FIG. 5).
  • the fins 104 may extend from a base 102, and may be formed in the assembly 202 by patterning and then etching the assembly 202, as known in the art. For example, a combination of dry and wet etch chemistry may be used to form the fins 104, and the appropriate chemistry may depend on the materials included in the assembly 202, as known in the art.
  • At least some of the substrate 144 may be included in the base 102, and at least some of the material stack 146 may be included in the fins 104.
  • the quantum well layers 152-1 and 152-2 (and the intervening barrier layer 154) of the material stack 146 may be included in the fins 104.
  • FIG. 7 illustrates a cross-sectional view of an assembly 206 subsequent to providing an insulating material 128 to the assembly 204 (FIG. 6).
  • Any suitable material may be used as the insulating material 128 to electrically insulate the fins 104 from each other.
  • the insulating material 128 may be a dielectric material, such as silicon oxide.
  • FIG. 8 illustrates a cross-sectional view of an assembly 208 subsequent to planarizing the assembly 206 (FIG. 7) to remove the insulating material 128 above the fins 104.
  • the assembly 206 may be planarized using a chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) technique.
  • CMP chemical mechanical polishing
  • the assembly 208 may be viewed as including a quantum well stack 147 and a support 103.
  • the quantum well stack 147 includes the quantum well layers 152-1 and 152-2, and the intervening barrier layer 154, of the material stack 146 (and may include additional material in the material stack 146), while the support 103 includes the base 102 (and may include additional material in the material stack 146).
  • the portion of the assembly 208 designated as the support 103 may be removed during manufacture of the quantum dot device 100, and the portion of the assembly 208 designated as the quantum well stack 147 may remain in the quantum dot device 100.
  • FIG. 9 is a perspective view of at least a portion of the assembly 208, showing the fins 104 extending from the base 102 and separated by the insulating material 128.
  • the cross-sectional views of FIGS. 4-8 are taken parallel to the plane of the page of the perspective view of FIG. 9.
  • FIG. 10 is another cross-sectional view of the assembly 208, taken along the dashed line along the fin 104-1 in FIG. 9.
  • the cross-sectional views illustrated in FIGS. 11-28 are taken along the same cross section as FIG. 10.
  • FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of an assembly 210 subsequent to forming a gate stack on the fins 104 of the assembly 208 (FIGS. 8-10).
  • the gate stack may include the gate dielectric 114-1, the gate metal 110-1, and a hardmask 116-1.
  • the hardmask 116-1 may be formed of an electrically insulating material, such as silicon nitride or carbon-doped nitride.
  • FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view of an assembly 212 subsequent to patterning the hardmask 116-1 of the assembly 210 (FIG. 11).
  • the pattern applied to the hardmask 116-1 may correspond to the locations for the gates 106-1, as discussed below.
  • the hardmask 116-1 may be patterned by applying a resist, patterning the resist using lithography, and then etching the hardmask (using dry etching or any appropriate technique).
  • FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view of an assembly 214 subsequent to etching the assembly 212 (FIG. 12) to remove the gate metal 110-1 that is not protected by the patterned hardmask 116-1 to form the gates 106-1.
  • the gate dielectric 114-1 may also be etched during the etching of the gate metal 110-1.
  • FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view of an assembly 216 subsequent to providing spacer material 132 on the assembly 214 (FIG. 13).
  • the spacer material 132 may include any of the materials discussed above with reference to the spacers 134-1, for example, and may be deposited using any suitable technique.
  • the spacer material 132 may be a nitride material (e.g., silicon nitride) deposited by sputtering.
  • FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view of an assembly 218 subsequent to etching the spacer material 132 of the assembly 216 (FIG. 14), leaving spacers 134-1 formed of the spacer material 132 on the sides of the gates 106-1 (e.g., on the sides of the hardmask 116-1 and the gate metal 110-1).
  • the etching of the spacer material 132 may be an anisotropic etch, etching the spacer material 132 "downward" to remove the spacer material 132 on top of the gates 106-1 and in some of the area between the gates 106-1, while leaving the spacers 134-1 on the sides of the gates 106.
  • the anisotropic etch may be a dry etch.
  • FIG. 16 is a cross-sectional view of an assembly 220 subsequent to providing the gate metal 112-1 on the assembly 218 (FIG. 15).
  • the gate metal 112-1 may fill the areas between adjacent ones of the gates 106-1, and may extend over the tops of the gates 106-1.
  • FIG. 17 is a cross-sectional view of an assembly 222 subsequent to planarizing the assembly 220 (FIG. 16) to remove the gate metal 112-1 above the gates 106-1.
  • the spacers 134-1 may be exposed at the "top" surface of the assembly 222.
  • the assembly 220 may be planarized using a CMP technique. Some of the remaining gate metal 112-1 may fill the areas between adjacent ones of the gates 106-1, while other portions 150 of the remaining gate metal 112-1 may be located "outside" of the gates 106-1. As noted elsewhere herein, in some
  • the assembly 220 may be planarized to remove at least some (or all) of the hardmask 116-1.
  • FIG. 18 is a cross-sectional view of an assembly 223 subsequent to removing the spacers 134-1 from the assembly 222 (FIG. 17) to form channels 119 that extend down to the quantum well stack 147. Any suitable selective etch may be used to remove the spacers 134-1, exposing the quantum well stack 147 at the "base" of the channels 119. The etch chemistry may be selected to remove the spacers 134-1 without removing other parts of the assembly 222. For example, in embodiments in which the spacers 134-1 are formed of silicon oxide, the etch may be selective to oxide and may not etch the hardmask 116-1 (e.g., a wet etch based on hydrogen fluoride).
  • FIG. 19 is a cross-sectional view of an assembly 224 subsequent to forming cavities in the quantum well stack 147 at the base of the channels 119 of the assembly 223 (FIG. 18), then filling these cavities with a strain-inducing material to form the strain-inducing regions 151-1.
  • the cavities for the strain-inducing regions 151-1 may extend into (and in some embodiments, through) the quantum well layer 152-1.
  • the quantum well stack 147 includes one or more additional material layers (e.g., barrier layers) between the gates 106-1/108-1 and the quantum well layer 152-1, the cavities may extend through these one or more additional material layers.
  • the cavities may be formed by a recess etch; for example, when the quantum well layer 152-1 is silicon, a silicon recess etch may be performed.
  • the width and depth of the strain-inducing regions 151-1 may be a function of the recess etch performed; as illustrated in FIG. 19, the strain-inducing regions may extend "laterally" beyond the channels 119, under the gate dielectric 114 of the adjacent gates 106-1/108-1.
  • the strain-inducing material may be provided using any suitable technique; for example, the strain-inducing material may be grown in the cavities by selective heteroepitaxy.
  • the strain-inducing regions 151-1 of the assembly 224 may take the form of any of the strain-inducing regions 151 disclosed herein.
  • FIG. 20 is a cross-sectional view of an assembly 225 subsequent to refilling the channels 119 of the assembly 224 (FIG. 19) with spacers 134 (e.g., using CVD or ALD), and providing a hardmask 118-1 on the surface of the assembly 224 (FIG. 19).
  • the material of the spacers 134 of the assembly 225 may be the same material or a different material as used in the preceding assemblies (e.g., a carbon-doped oxide, silicon nitride, silicon oxide, or other carbides or nitrides, such as silicon carbide, silicon nitride doped with carbon, and silicon oxynitride).
  • the hardmask 118-1 may be formed of any of the materials discussed above with reference to the hardmask 116-1, for example.
  • FIG. 21 is a cross-sectional view of an assembly 226 subsequent to patterning the hardmask 118-1 of the assembly 225 (FIG. 20).
  • the pattern applied to the hardmask 118-1 may extend over the hardmask 116-1 (and over the gate metal 110-1 of the gates 106-1, as well as over the locations for the gates 108-1 (as illustrated in FIG. 2).
  • the hardmask 118-1 may be non-coplanar with the hardmask 116-1, as illustrated in FIG. 21.
  • the hardmask 118-1 illustrated in FIG. 21 may thus be a common, continuous portion of hardmask 118-1 that extends over all of the hardmask 116-1.
  • the hardmask 118-1 may be patterned using any of the techniques discussed above with reference to the patterning of the hardmask 116-1, for example.
  • FIG. 22 is a cross-sectional view of an assembly 228 subsequent to etching the assembly 226 (FIG. 21) to remove the portions 150 that are not protected by the patterned hardmask 118-1 to form the gates 108-1. Portions of the hardmask 118-1 may remain on top of the hardmask 116-1, as shown.
  • the operations performed on the assembly 226 may include removing any gate dielectric 114-1 that is "exposed" on the fin 104, as shown.
  • the excess gate dielectric 114-1 may be removed using any suitable technique, such as chemical etching or silicon bombardment.
  • the patterned hardmask 118 may extend "laterally" beyond the gates 106 to cover gate metal 112 that it located “outside” the gates 106.
  • those portions of gate metal 112 may remain in the assembly 228 and may provide the outermost gates (i.e., those gates 108 may bookend the other gates 106/108).
  • the exposed gate metal 112 at the sides of those outer gates 108 may be insulated by additional spacers 134, formed using any of the techniques discussed herein.
  • Such outer gates 108 may be included in any of the embodiments disclosed herein.
  • FIG. 23 is a cross-sectional view of an assembly 230 subsequent to doping the quantum well stack 147 of the assembly 228 (FIG. 22) to form doped regions 140-1.
  • the doped regions 140-1 may be in conductive contact with the quantum well layer 152-1.
  • the type of dopant used to form the doped regions 140-1 may depend on the type of quantum dot desired, as discussed above.
  • the doping may be performed by ion implantation.
  • the doped regions 140-1 may be formed by ion implantation of phosphorous, arsenic, or another n-type material.
  • the doped regions 140-1 may be formed by ion implantation of boron or another p-type material. An annealing process that activates the dopants and causes them to diffuse farther into the quantum well stack 147 may follow the ion implantation process.
  • the depth of the doped regions 140-1 may take any suitable value; for example, in some embodiments, the doped regions 140-1 may each have a depth 115 between 500 and 1000 Angstroms.
  • the outer spacers 134-1 on the outer gates 106-1 may provide a doping boundary, limiting diffusion of the dopant from the doped regions 140-1 into the area under the gates 106-1/108-1. As shown, the doped regions 140-1 may extend under the adjacent outer spacers 134-1. In some embodiments, the doped regions 140-1 may extend past the outer spacers 134-1 and under the gate metal 110-1 of the outer gates 106-1, may extend only to the boundary between the outer spacers 134-1 and the adjacent gate metal 110-1, or may terminate under the outer spacers 134-1 and not reach the boundary between the outer spacers 134-1 and the adjacent gate metal 110-1. The doping concentration of the doped regions 140-1 may, in some embodiments, be between 10 17 /cm 3 and 10 20 /cm 3 .
  • FIG. 24 is a cross-sectional side view of an assembly 232 subsequent to providing a layer of nickel or other material 143 over the assembly 230 (FIG. 23).
  • the nickel or other material 143 may be deposited on the assembly 230 using any suitable technique (e.g., a plating technique, chemical vapor deposition, or atomic layer deposition).
  • FIG. 25 is a cross-sectional side view of an assembly 234 subsequent to annealing the assembly 232 (FIG. 24) to cause the material 143 to interact with the doped regions 140-1 to form the interface material 141-1, then removing the unreacted material 143.
  • the 140- 1 include silicon and the material 143 includes nickel, for example, the interface material 141-1 may be nickel silicide. Materials other than nickel may be deposited in the operations discussed above with reference to FIG. 24 in order to form other interface materials 141-1, including titanium, aluminum, molybdenum, cobalt, tungsten, or platinum, for example. More generally, the interface material 141-1 of the assembly 234 may include any of the materials discussed herein with reference to the interface material 141.
  • FIG. 26 is a cross-sectional view of an assembly 236 subsequent to providing an insulating material 130-1 on the assembly 234 (FIG. 25).
  • the insulating material 130-1 may take any of the forms discussed above.
  • the insulating material 130-1 may be a dielectric material, such as silicon oxide.
  • the insulating material 130-1 may be provided on the assembly 234 using any suitable technique, such as spin coating, chemical vapor deposition (CVD), or plasma-enhanced CVD (PECVD).
  • the insulating material 130-1 may be polished back after deposition, and before further processing.
  • the assembly 236 may be planarized to remove the hardmasks 116-1 and 118-1, then additional insulating material 130-1 may optionally be provided on the planarized surface; in such an embodiment, the hardmasks 116-1 and 118-1 would not be present in the quantum dot device 100.
  • a nitride etch stop layer (NESL) may be provided on the assembly 234 (e.g., above the interface material 141) before providing the insulating material 130.
  • FIG. 27 is a cross-sectional view of an assembly 238 subsequent to forming, in the assembly 236 (FIG. 26), conductive vias 120-1 through the insulating material 130-1 (and the hardmasks 116-1 and 118-1) to contact the gate metal 110-1 of the gates 106-1, conductive vias 122-1 through the insulating material 130-1 (and the hardmask 118-1) to contact the gate metal 112-1 of the gates 108- 1, and conductive vias 136-1 through the insulating material 130-1 to contact the interface material
  • the assembly 238 may include conductive pathways to those doped layers.
  • One technique for forming such conductive pathways includes forming cavities in the insulating material 130, extending down to the quantum well stack 147 (e.g., by laser or mechanical drilling, or using conventional lithography techniques for patterning and etching the cavities in a low dielectric insulating material 130-1); performing ion implantation in the quantum well stack 147 at the base of the cavities to create conductive bridges in the quantum well stack between the cavities and the quantum well layer 152, wherein the conductive bridges extend to one or more doped layer(s) 137 (not shown) and the quantum well layer 152, and the type of dopant (e.g., n-type or p-type) and the density of doping may depend on the desired type and amount of conductivity; and filling the cavities with conductive material.
  • the type of dopant e.g., n-type or p-type
  • the density of doping may depend on the desired type and amount of conductivity
  • Another technique for forming such conductive pathways includes forming cavities in the insulating material 130, extending down to the quantum well stack 147 (e.g., as discussed above); filling the cavities with conductive material; performing an anneal to drive metal atoms from the conductive material into the quantum well stack 147 to form conductive bridges between the conductive material and the quantum well layer 152 and the doped layer 137 (not shown), wherein the parameters of the annealing process may depend on the materials used in the quantum dot device 100, and on the desired properties of the quantum well stacks 147.
  • Another technique for forming such conductive pathways includes forming cavities that extend through the insulating material 130-1 and into the quantum well stack 147, to the quantum well layer 152 and the doped layer 137 (not shown), then filling the cavities with conductive material.
  • FIG. 28 is a cross-sectional view of an assembly 240 subsequent to removing the support 103 from the assembly 238 (FIG. 27).
  • the quantum well stack 147 may remain secured to the gates 106- 1/108-1 and the insulating material 130-1.
  • Any suitable technique may be used to separate the support 103 from the rest of the assembly 238.
  • the support 103 is polished or etched away.
  • the base 102 may be mechanically separated from the rest of the assembly 238, and then the "broken" surface of the assembly 240 may be polished or etched.
  • a CM P technique may be used to polish the assembly 238 when forming the assembly 240.
  • the support 103 may include the base 102 and at least some of the material stack 146; for example, some buffer material included in the material stack 146 (as discussed below with reference to FIGS. 50-54) may be removed as part of removal of the support 103.
  • FIG. 29 is a cross-sectional view of an assembly 242 subsequent to turning the assembly 240 (FIG. 28) "upside down" so that further processing may be performed on the exposed surface of the quantum well stack 147.
  • the assembly 240 need not be physically reoriented (as illustrated in FIG. 29) in order for subsequent processing operations to be performed.
  • FIG. 30 is a cross-sectional view of an assembly 244 subsequent to forming gates 106-2/108- 2 with a gate dielectric 114-2, doped regions 140-2, interface material 141-2, and conductive vias 120-2/122-2/136-2 on the quantum well stack 147 proximate to the quantum well layer 152-2.
  • These structures may be formed using any of the techniques discussed above with reference to FIGS. 11-27.
  • hardmasks 116-2 and 118-2 may be part of the gates 106- 2/108-2, analogously to the hardmasks 116-1 and 118-1 of the gates 106-1/108-1.
  • the resulting assembly 244 may take the form of the quantum dot device 100 discussed above with reference to FIGS. 1-3.
  • the assembly 244 may be planarized to remove the hardmasks 116-2 and 118-2, then additional insulating material 130-2 may be provided on the planarized surface before forming the conductive vias 120-2, 122-2, and 136-2; in such an embodiment, the hardmasks 116-2 and 118-2 would not be present in the quantum dot device 100.
  • the conductive vias 120-1/122-1/136-1 may be part of conductive pathways that extend to the first face 117-1 of the quantum dot device 100, and the conductive vias 120-2/122-2/136-2 may be part of conductive pathways that extend to the second face 117-2 of the quantum dot device 100.
  • FIG. 31 is a cross-sectional view of another embodiment of a quantum dot device 100.
  • the quantum dot device 100 of FIG. 31 may share the cross-sectional views of FIGS. 2 and 3 with the quantum dot device 100 of FIG. 1, but FIG. 31 illustrates a different structure of the quantum dot device 100 taken along the section C-C of FIG. 2.
  • FIG. 31 indicates that the cross section illustrated in FIG. 2 is taken through the trench 107-1, an analogous cross section taken through the trench 107-2 may be identical, and thus the discussion of the quantum dot device 100 of FIG. 31 may refer generally to the "trench 107.”
  • the quantum dot device 100 of FIG. 31 may include doped layer(s) 137 (not shown) instead of or in addition to the doped regions 140 of FIG. 2, as discussed herein.
  • the quantum dot device 100 of FIG. 31 may include a quantum well stack 147.
  • the quantum dot device 100 of FIG. 31 may include portions of insulating material 128-1 disposed above the quantum well stack 147, and multiple trenches 107-1 in the insulating material 128-1 may extend toward the quantum well stack 147.
  • the gate dielectric 114-1 may be disposed between the quantum well stack 147 and the insulating material 128-1 so as to provide the "bottom" of the trenches 107-1.
  • Analogous structures may be disposed on the other face of the quantum well stack 147, so as to form a double-sided structure.
  • the quantum well stack 147 may take the form of any of the quantum well stacks 147 discussed herein.
  • a quantum well layer 152 itself may provide a geometric constraint on the z-location of quantum dots in the quantum well stack 147; to control the x- and y-location of quantum dots in the quantum well stack 147, voltages may be applied to gates disposed at least partially in the trenches 107 above the quantum well stack 147 to adjust the energy profile along the trenches 107 in the x- and y-direction and thereby constrain the x- and y-location of quantum dots within quantum.
  • the dimensions of the trenches 107 may take any suitable values.
  • the trenches 107 may each have a width 163 between 10 and 30 nanometers. In some embodiments, the trenches 107 may each have a depth 165 between 200 and 400 nanometers (e.g., between 250 and 350 nanometers, or equal to 300 nanometers).
  • the insulating material 128 may be a dielectric material (e.g., an interlayer dielectric), such as silicon oxide. In some embodiments, the insulating material 128 may be a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) or flowable CVD oxide. In some embodiments, the trenches 107 may be spaced apart by a distance 161 between 100 and 250 nanometers.
  • Multiple gates may be disposed at least partially in each of the trenches 107.
  • the cross- sectional views of these gates along the section A-A may take any of the forms discussed above with reference to FIG. 2.
  • the gate metal 110 of a gate 106 may extend over the insulating material 128 and into a trench 107 in the insulating material 128. As illustrated in FIG. 31, no spacer material may be disposed between the gate metal 110 and the sidewalls of the trench 107 in the y-direction.
  • the gate metal 112 of a gate 108 may extend over the insulating material 128 and into a trench 107 in the insulating material 128.
  • the gate 108-1 may extend between the proximate spacers 134 on the sides of the gate 106-1 and the gate 106-2 along the longitudinal axis of the trench 107.
  • the gate dielectric 114 may extend at least partially up the sides of the spacers 134 (and up the proximate sidewalls of the trench 107), and the gate metal 112 may extend between the portions of gate dielectric 114 on the spacers 134 (and the proximate sidewalls of the trench 107).
  • no spacer material may be disposed between the gate metal 112 and the sidewalls of the trench 107 in the y-direction (e.g., as discussed below with reference to FIGS. 32-49); in other embodiments, spacers 134 may also be disposed between the gate metal 112 and the sidewalls of the trench 107 in the y-direction.
  • the quantum dot device 100 of FIG. 31 may include doped regions 140, interface materials 141, conductive pathways (e.g., conductive vias), and any other components in accordance with any of the embodiments described above with reference to the quantum dot device 100 of FIG. 1.
  • the quantum dot device 100 of FIG. 31 may be used in any of the ways described above with reference to the quantum dot device 100 of FIG. 1.
  • the quantum dot device 100 of FIG. 31 may be manufactured using any suitable techniques.
  • the manufacture of the quantum dot device 100 of FIG. 31 may begin as described above with reference to FIGS. 4-5; however, instead of forming fins 104 in the material stack 146 of the assembly 202, manufacturing may proceed as illustrated in FIGS. 32-49 (and described below).
  • the support 103 is omitted from FIGS. 32-49 for economy of illustration, and operations are shown as performed on the quantum well stack 147.
  • FIG. 32 is a cross-sectional view of an assembly 246 subsequent to providing a layer of gate dielectric 114-1 on the quantum well stack 147 of the assembly 202 (FIG. 5).
  • the gate dielectric 114-1 may be provided by atomic layer deposition (ALD), or any other suitable technique.
  • FIG. 33 is a cross-sectional view of an assembly 248 subsequent to providing an insulating material 128-1 on the assembly 246 (FIG. 32). Any suitable material may be used as the insulating material 128-1 to electrically insulate the trenches 107-11 and 107-12 from each other, as discussed above. As noted above, in some embodiments, the insulating material 128-1 may be a dielectric material, such as silicon oxide.
  • the gate dielectric 114-1 may not be provided on the quantum well stack 147 before the deposition of the insulating material 128-1; instead, the insulating material 128-1 may be provided directly on the quantum well stack 147, and the gate dielectric 114-1 may be provided in trenches 107-1 of the insulating material 128-1 after the trenches 107-1 are formed.
  • FIG. 34 is a cross-sectional view of an assembly 250 subsequent to forming trenches 107-11 in the insulating material 128-1 of the assembly 248 (FIG. 33).
  • the trenches 107-1 may extend down to the gate dielectric 114-1, and may be formed in the assembly 248 by patterning and then etching the assembly 248 using any suitable conventional lithographic process known in the art.
  • a hardmask may be provided on the insulating material 128-1, and a photoresist may be provided on the hardmask; the photoresist may be patterned to identify the areas in which the trenches 107-1 are to be formed, the hardmask may be etched in accordance with the patterned photoresist, and the insulating material 128-1 may be etched in accordance with the etched hardmask (after which the remaining hardmask and photoresist may be removed).
  • a combination of dry and wet etch chemistry may be used to form the trenches 107-1 in the insulating material 128-1, and the appropriate chemistry may depend on the materials included in the assembly 208, as known in the art.
  • FIG. 35 is a view of the assembly 250 taken along the section A-A of FIG. 34, through a trench 107-1 (while FIG. 34 illustrates the assembly 250 taken along the section D-D of FIG. 35).
  • FIGS. 36-37 maintain the perspective of FIG. 35.
  • the gate dielectric 114-1 may be provided in the trenches 107-1 (instead of before the insulating material 128-1 is initially deposited, as discussed above with reference to FIG. 32).
  • the gate dielectric 114-1 may be provided in the trenches 107-1 using ALD.
  • the gate dielectric 114-1 may be disposed at the bottom of the trenches 107-1, and extend up onto the sidewalls of the trenches 107-1.
  • FIG. 36 is a cross-sectional view of an assembly 252 subsequent to providing a gate metal 110-1 and a hardmask 116-1 on the assembly 250 (FIGS. 34-35), patterning the hardmask 116-1, and etching the gate metal 110-1 that is not protected by the patterned hardmask 116-1 to form the gates 106.
  • the formation of the gates 106-1 in the assembly 252 may take the form of any of the embodiments discussed above with reference to FIGS. 11-13.
  • the gate dielectric 114-1 may also be etched during the etching of the gate metal 110-1.
  • FIG. 37 is a cross-sectional view of an assembly 254 subsequent to providing spacer material 132 on the assembly 252 (FIG. 36).
  • FIG. 38 is a view of the assembly 254 taken along the section D-D of FIG. 37, through the region between adjacent gates 106 (while FIG. 37 illustrates the assembly 254 taken along the section A-A of FIG. 38, along a trench 107-1).
  • the spacer material 132 may include any of the materials discussed above with reference to the spacers 134, for example, and may be deposited using any suitable technique.
  • the spacer material 132 may be a nitride material (e.g., silicon nitride) deposited by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) or atomic layer deposition (ALD). As illustrated in FIGS. 37 and 38, the spacer material 132 may be conformally deposited on the assembly 252.
  • FIG. 39 is a cross-sectional view of an assembly 256 subsequent to providing capping material 133 on the assembly 254 (FIGS. 37 and 38).
  • FIG. 40 is a view of the assembly 256 taken along the section D-D of FIG. 39, through the region between adjacent gates 106 (while FIG. 39 illustrates the assembly 256 taken along the section A-A of FIG. 40, along a trench 107-1).
  • the capping material 133 may be any suitable material; for example, the capping material 133 may be silicon oxide deposited by CVD or ALD. As illustrated in FIGS. 39 and 40, the capping material 133 may be conformally deposited on the assembly 254.
  • FIG. 41 is a cross-sectional view of an assembly 258 subsequent to providing a sacrificial material 135 on the assembly 256 (FIGS. 39 and 40).
  • FIG. 42 is a view of the assembly 258 taken along the section D-D of FIG. 41, through the region between adjacent gates 106 (while FIG. 41 illustrates the assembly 258 taken along the section A-A of FIG. 42, through a trench 107-1).
  • the sacrificial material 135 may be deposited on the assembly 256 to completely cover the capping material 133, then the sacrificial material 135 may be recessed to expose portions 137 of the capping material 133.
  • the portions 137 of capping material 133 disposed near the hardmask 116-1 on the gate metal 110-1 may not be covered by the sacrificial material 135.
  • all of the capping material 133 disposed in the region between adjacent gates 106 may be covered by the sacrificial material 135.
  • the recessing of the sacrificial material 135 may be achieved by any etching technique, such as a dry etch.
  • the sacrificial material 135 may be any suitable material, such as a bottom anti-reflective coating (BA C).
  • FIG. 43 is a cross-sectional view of an assembly 260 subsequent to treating the exposed portions 137 of the capping material 133 of the assembly 258 (FIGS. 41 and 42) to change the etching characteristics of the exposed portions 137 relative to the rest of the capping material 133.
  • FIG. 44 is a view of the assembly 260 taken along the section D-D of FIG. 43, through the region between adjacent gates 106 (while FIG. 43 illustrates the assembly 260 taken along the section A-A of FIG. 44, through a trench 107-1).
  • this treatment may include performing a high-dose ion implant in which the implant dose is high enough to cause a compositional change in the portions 137 and achieve a desired change in etching characteristics.
  • FIG. 45 is a cross-sectional view of an assembly 262 subsequent to removing the sacrificial material 135 and the unexposed capping material 133 of the assembly 260 (FIGS. 43 and 44).
  • FIG. 46 is a view of the assembly 262 taken along the section D-D of FIG. 45, through the region between adjacent gates 106 (while FIG. 45 illustrates the assembly 262 taken along the section A-A of FIG. 46, through a trench 107-1).
  • the sacrificial material 135 may be removed using any suitable technique (e.g., by ashing, followed by a cleaning step), and the untreated capping material 133 may be removed using any suitable technique (e.g., by etching).
  • a high temperature anneal may be performed to incorporate the implanted ions in the portions 137 of the capping material 133 before removing the untreated capping material 133.
  • the remaining treated capping material 133 in the assembly 262 may provide capping structures 145 disposed proximate to the "tops" of the gates 106-1 and extending over the spacer material 132 disposed on the "sides" of the gates 106-1.
  • FIG. 47 is a cross-sectional view of an assembly 264 subsequent to directionally etching the spacer material 132 of the assembly 262 (FIGS. 45 and 46) that isn't protected by a capping structure 145, leaving spacer material 132 on the sides and top of the gates 106-1 (e.g., on the sides and top of the hardmask 116-1 and the gate metal 110-1).
  • FIG. 48 is a view of the assembly 264 taken along the section D-D of FIG. 47, through the region between adjacent gates 106 (while FIG. 47 illustrates the assembly 264 taken along the section A-A of FIG. 48, through a trench 107-1).
  • the etching of the spacer material 132 may be an anisotropic etch, etching the spacer material 132 "downward" to remove the spacer material 132 in some of the area between the gates 106-1 (as illustrated in FIGS. 47 and 48), while leaving the spacer material 135 on the sides and tops of the gates 106-1.
  • the anisotropic etch may be a dry etch.
  • FIG. 49 maintains the cross-sectional perspective of FIG. 47.
  • FIG. 49 is a cross-sectional view of an assembly 266 subsequent to removing the capping structures 145 from the assembly 264 (FIGS. 47 and 48).
  • the capping structures 145 may be removed using any suitable technique (e.g., a wet etch).
  • the spacer material 132 that remains in the assembly 266 may include spacers 134-1 disposed on the sides of the gates 106-1, and portions 139 disposed on the top of the gates 106-1.
  • the assembly 266 may be further processed by providing a gate metal 112-1 thereon, planarizing the result to remove the gate metal 112-1 and the space material portions 139 above the hardmask 116-1, using operations like those described above with reference to FIGS. 16 and 17.
  • the resulting assembly may then be further processed to form the quantum dot device 100 of FIG. 31 using operations like those discussed above with reference to FIGS. 18-30.
  • spacers 134 may also be disposed between the gate metal 112 and the sidewalls of the trench 104 in the y-direction.
  • the operations discussed above with reference to FIGS. 39-48 may not be performed; instead, the spacer material 132 of the assembly 254 of FIGS. 37 and 38 may be anisotropically etched (as discussed with reference to FIGS. 47 and 48) to form the spacers 134-1 on the sides of the gates 106-1 and on the sidewalls of the trench 104.
  • Such an assembly may be further processed as discussed above (or other embodiments discussed herein) to form a quantum dot device 100.
  • a material stack 146 (and thus a quantum well stack 147) formed in the manufacture of a quantum dot device 100 may take any of a number of forms, several of which are illustrated in FIGS. 50-54.
  • the layers of the material stacks 146 of FIGS. 50-54 may be grown on the substrate 144 (and on each other) by epitaxy.
  • the material stacks 146 illustrated in FIGS. 50-54 each include two quantum well layers 152
  • the material stack 146 included in a quantum dot device 100 may include one quantum well layer 152 or more than two quantum well layers 152; elements may be omitted from the material stacks 146, or added to the material stacks 146, discussed with reference to FIGS.
  • Layers other than the quantum well layer(s) 152 in a quantum well stack 147 may have higher threshold voltages for conduction than the quantum well layer(s) 152 so that when the quantum well layer(s) 152 are biased at their threshold voltages, the quantum well layer(s) 152 conduct and the other layers of the quantum well stack 147 do not. This may avoid parallel conduction in both the quantum well layer(s) 152 and the other layers, and thus avoid compromising the strong mobility of the quantum well layer(s) 152 with conduction in layers having inferior mobility.
  • FIG. 50 is a cross-sectional view of a material stack 146 including only a quantum well layer 152-1, a barrier layer 154, and a quantum well layer 152-2.
  • the quantum well layers 152 of FIG. 50 may be formed of intrinsic silicon, and the gate dielectrics 114 may be formed of silicon oxide; in such an arrangement, during use of the quantum dot device 100, a 2DEG may form in the intrinsic silicon at the interface between the intrinsic silicon and the proximate silicon oxide.
  • the quantum well layers 152 of FIG. 50 are formed of intrinsic silicon may be particularly advantageous for electron-type quantum dot devices 100.
  • the gate dielectrics 114 may be formed of germanium oxide; in such an arrangement, during use of the quantum dot device 100, a 2DEG may form in the intrinsic germanium at the interface between the intrinsic germanium and the proximate germanium oxide. Such embodiments may be particularly advantageous for hole-type quantum dot devices 100.
  • the quantum well layers 152 may be strained, while in other embodiments, the quantum well layers 152 may not be strained.
  • the quantum well layer 152-2 may be polished to a predetermined thickness as part of removal of the support 103 (as discussed above with reference to FIG. 28), and thus an amount of the quantum well layer 152-2 in the material stack 146 may be part of the support 103.
  • the barrier layer 154 of FIG. 50 may provide a potential barrier between the quantum well layer 152-1 and the quantum well layer 152-2.
  • the barrier layer 154 may be formed of silicon germanium.
  • the germanium content of this silicon germanium may be 20-80% (e.g., 30%).
  • the barrier layer 154 may be formed of silicon germanium (with a germanium content of 20-80% (e.g., 70%)).
  • the thicknesses (i.e., z-heights) of the layers in the material stack 146 of FIG. 50 may take any suitable values.
  • the thickness of the barrier layer 154 e.g., silicon germanium
  • the thickness of the quantum well layers 152 e.g., silicon or germanium
  • These thicknesses may represent thicknesses of the layers in the quantum well stack 147, in some embodiments.
  • At least some of the material stack 146 of FIG. 50 may be disposed between the sets of gates 105-1 and 105-2 in the form of the quantum well stack 147, as discussed above.
  • FIG. 51 is a cross-sectional view of a material stack 146 including quantum well layers 152-1 and 152-2, a barrier layer 154-2 disposed between the quantum well layers 152-1 and 152-2, and additional barrier layers 154-1 and 154-3.
  • the barrier layer 154-1 may be disposed between the quantum well layer 152-1 and the gate dielectric 114-1.
  • the barrier layer 154-3 may be disposed between the quantum well layer 152-2 and the gate dielectric 114-2.
  • the barrier layer 154-3 may be formed of a material (e.g., silicon germanium), and when the material stack 146 is being grown on the substrate 144, the barrier layer 154-3 may include a buffer region of that material.
  • This buffer region may trap defects that form in this material as it is grown on the substrate 144, and in some embodiments, the buffer region may be grown under different conditions (e.g., deposition temperature or growth rate) from the rest of the barrier layer 154-3. In particular, the rest of the barrier layer 154-3 may be grown under conditions that achieve fewer defects than the buffer region.
  • the material stack 146 may be "broken" in a buffer region of the barrier layer 154-3.
  • the barrier layer 154- 1 may be polished to a predetermined thickness as part of removal of the support 103 (as discussed above with reference to FIG. 28), and thus an amount of the barrier layer 154-3 in the material stack 146 may be part of the support 103.
  • the buffer region may be lattice mismatched with the quantum well layer(s) 152 in a material stack 146, imparting biaxial strain to the quantum well layer(s) 152.
  • the barrier layers 154-1 and 154-3 may provide potential energy barriers around the quantum well layers 152-1 and 152-2, respectively, and the barrier layer 154-1 may take the form of any of the embodiments of the barrier layer 154-3 discussed herein.
  • the barrier layer 154-1 may have a similar form as the barrier layer 154-3, but may not include a "buffer region" as discussed above; in the quantum dot device 100, the barrier layer 154-3 and the barrier layer 154-1 may have substantially the same structure.
  • the barrier layer 154-2 may take the form of any of the embodiments of the barrier layer 154 discussed above with reference to FIG. 50.
  • the thickness of the barrier layers 154-1 and 154-3 (e.g., silicon germanium) in the quantum dot device 100 may be between 0 and 400 nanometers.
  • the thickness of the quantum well layers 152 e.g., silicon or germanium
  • the thickness of the barrier layer 154-2 e.g., silicon germanium
  • the thickness of the barrier layer 154-2 may be between 25 and 75 nanometers (e.g., 32 nanometers).
  • FIGS. 52-54 illustrate examples of material stacks 146 including doped layer(s) 137.
  • doped layer(s) 137 may be included in a quantum well stack 147 instead of or in addition to the doped regions 140.
  • FIG. 52 is a cross-sectional view of a material stack 146 including a buffer layer 176, a barrier layer 155-2, a quantum well layer 152-2, a barrier layer 154-2, a doped layer 137, a barrier layer 154- 1, a quantum well layer 152-1, and a barrier layer 155-1.
  • the material stack 146 may be grown on the base 102 (e.g., as discussed above with reference to FIG. 5) such that the buffer layer 176 is disposed between the barrier layer 155-1 and the base 102.
  • the buffer layer 176 may be formed of the same material as the barrier layer 155-2, and may be present to trap defects that form in this material as it is grown on the base 102.
  • the buffer layer 176 may be grown under different conditions (e.g., deposition temperature or growth rate) from the barrier layer 155-2.
  • the barrier layer 155-2 may be grown under conditions that achieve fewer defects than the buffer layer 176.
  • the silicon germanium of the buffer layer 176 may have a germanium content that varies from the base 102 to the barrier layer 155-2; for example, the silicon germanium of the buffer layer 176 may have a germanium content that varies from zero percent at a silicon base 102 to a nonzero percent (e.g., 30%) at the barrier layer 155-2.
  • the buffer layer 176 may be grown beyond its critical layer thickness such that it is substantially free of stress from the underlying base 102 (and thus may be referred to as "relaxed").
  • the thickness of the buffer layer 176 may be between 0.3 and 4 microns (e.g., 0.3-2 microns, or 0.5 microns).
  • the material stack 146 may be "broken" in the buffer layer 176.
  • the buffer layer 176 may be lattice mismatched with the quantum well layer(s) 152 in a material stack 146, imparting biaxial strain to the quantum well layer(s) 152.
  • the barrier layer 155-2 may provide a potential energy barrier proximate to the quantum well layer 152-2.
  • the barrier layer 155-2 may be formed of any suitable materials.
  • the quantum well layer 152 is formed of silicon or germanium
  • the barrier layer 155-2 may be formed of silicon germanium.
  • the thickness of the barrier layer 155-2 may be between 0 and 400 nanometers (e.g., between 25 and 75 nanometers).
  • the quantum well layer 152-2 may be formed of a different material than the barrier layer 155-2.
  • a quantum well layer 152 may be formed of a material such that, during operation of the quantum dot device 100, a 2DEG may form in the quantum well layer 152.
  • the quantum well layer 152 is formed of intrinsic silicon may be particularly advantageous for electron-type quantum dot devices 100.
  • Embodiments in which a quantum well layer 152 is formed of intrinsic germanium may be particularly advantageous for hole-type quantum dot devices 100.
  • a quantum well layer 152 may be strained, while in other embodiments, a quantum well layer 152 may not be strained.
  • the thickness of a quantum well layer 152 may take any suitable values; in some embodiments, a quantum well layer 152 may have a thickness between 5 and 30 nanometers.
  • the doped layer 137 may be "shared" by the two quantum well layers 152 in the material stack 146, in that the doped layer 137 provides carriers to the quantum well layer 152-1 and the quantum well layer 152-2 during use.
  • the quantum well layer 152-1 may be disposed between the doped layer 137 and the gates 108-1, while the quantum well layer 152-2 may be disposed between the doped layer 137 and the gates 108-2.
  • the doped layer 137 of FIG. 52 may be doped with an n-type material (e.g., for an electron-type quantum dot device 100) or a p-type material (e.g., for a hole-type quantum dot device 100).
  • the doping concentration of the doped layer 137 may be between 10 17 /cm 3 and 10 20 /cm 3 (e.g., between 10 17 /cm 3 and 10 18 /cm 3 ).
  • the thickness (i.e., z-height) of the doped layer 137 may depend on the doping concentration, among other factors, and in some embodiments, may be between 5 and 50 nanometers (e.g., between 20 and 30 nanometers).
  • a doped layer 137 may be formed using any of a number of techniques.
  • a doped layer 137 may be formed of an undoped base material (e.g., silicon germanium) that is doped in situ during growth of the base material by epitaxy.
  • an undoped base material e.g., silicon germanium
  • a doped layer 137 may initially be fully formed of an undoped base material (e.g., silicon germanium), then a layer of dopant may be deposited on this base material (e.g., a monolayer of the desired dopant), and an annealing process may be performed to drive the dopant into the base material.
  • a doped layer 137 may initially be fully formed of an undoped base material (e.g., silicon germanium), and the dopant may be implanted into the lattice (and, in some embodiments, may be subsequently annealed).
  • a doped layer 137 may be provided by a silicon germanium layer (e.g., with 90% germanium content) doped with an n-type dopant. In general, any suitable technique may be used to form a doped layer 137.
  • the barrier layer 154-2 may not be doped, and thus may provide a barrier to prevent impurities in the doped layer 137 from diffusing into the quantum well layer 152-2 and forming recombination sites or other defects that may reduce channel conduction and thereby impede performance of the quantum dot device 100.
  • the doped layer 137 may include a same material as the barrier layer 154-2, but the barrier layer 154-2 may not be doped.
  • the doped layer 137 and the barrier layer 154-2 may both be silicon germanium.
  • the barrier layer 154-2 may be formed of silicon germanium. The germanium content of this silicon germanium may be 20-80% (e.g., 30%). In some
  • the barrier layer 154- 2 may be formed of silicon germanium (with a germanium content of 20-80% (e.g., 70%)).
  • the thickness of the barrier layer 154-2 may depend on the doping concentration of the doped layer 137, among other factors discussed below, and in some embodiments, may be between 5 and 50 nanometers (e.g., between 20 and 30 nanometers).
  • the barrier layer 154-1 may provide a barrier to prevent impurities in the doped layer 137 from diffusing into the quantum well layer 152-1, and may take any of the forms described herein for the barrier layer 154-2.
  • the quantum well layer 152-1 may take any of the forms described herein for the quantum well layer 152-2.
  • the barrier layer 155-1 may provide a potential energy barrier proximate to the quantum well layer 152-1 (as discussed above with reference to the barrier layer 155-2 and the quantum well layer 152-2), and may take any of the forms described herein for the barrier layer 155-2.
  • the thickness of a barrier layer 154 may impact the ease with which carriers in the doped layer 137 can move into a quantum well layer 152 disposed on the other side of the barrier layer 154.
  • the thicker the barrier layer 154 the more difficult it may be for carriers to move into the quantum well layer 152; at the same time, the thicker the barrier layer 154, the more effective it may be at preventing impurities from the doped layer 137 from moving into the quantum well layer 152.
  • the diffusion of impurities may depend on the temperature at which the quantum dot device 100 operates.
  • the thickness of the barrier layer 154 may be adjusted to achieve a desired energy barrier and impurity screening effect between the doped layer 137 and the quantum well layer 152 during expected operating conditions.
  • the layers 154-1 and 152-1 may be omitted, and gates may be formed proximate to the barrier layer 155-1 such that the quantum well layer 152-1 is disposed between the gates and the doped layer 137.
  • the layers 154-1, 152-1, and 155-2 may be omitted, and gates may be formed proximate to the doped layer 137.
  • the buffer layer 176 and/or the barrier layer 155-2 may be omitted from the material stack 146 of FIG. 52.
  • FIG. 53 is a cross-sectional view of a material stack 146 that is similar to the material stack 146 of FIG. 52, except that in the place of the single doped layer 137 shared by two quantum well layers 152, the material stack 146 of FIG. 53 includes two different doped layers 137-2 and 137-1 (spaced apart by a barrier layer 155-3).
  • the doped layer 137-2 may provide a source of carriers for the quantum well layer 152-2
  • the doped layer 137-1 may provide a source of carriers for the quantum well layer 152-1.
  • the barrier layer 155-3 may provide a potential barrier between the two doped layers 137, and may take any suitable form.
  • the elements of the material stack 146 of FIG. 53 may take the form of any of the corresponding elements of the material stack 146 of FIG. 52.
  • the doped layers 137-1 and 137-2 may have the same geometry and material composition, or may have different geometries and/or material compositions.
  • FIG. 54 is a cross-sectional view of a material stack 146 in which two doped layers 137-1 and 137-2 are disposed toward the "outside" of the material stack 146, rather than the "inside” of the material stack 146, as illustrated in FIGS. 52 and 53.
  • the quantum well layer 152-2 is disposed between the doped layer 137-2 and the quantum well layer 152-1
  • the quantum well layer 152-1 is disposed between the doped layer 137-1 and the quantum well layer 152-2.
  • the doped layer 137-1 may be disposed between the quantum well layer 152-1 and the gates 108-1
  • the doped layer 137-2 may be disposed between the quantum well layer 152-2 and the gates 108-2.
  • a barrier layer 155-3 provides a potential barrier between the quantum well layers 152-1 and 152-2 (rather than between the doped layers 137-1 and 137-2, as illustrated in the material stack 146 of FIG. 53).
  • the elements of the material stack 146 of FIG. 54 may take the form of any of the corresponding elements of the material stack 146 of FIGS. 51 and 52.
  • the material stack 146 may include a silicon base 102, a buffer layer 176 of silicon germanium (e.g., with 30% germanium content), then a doped layer 137 formed of silicon germanium doped with an n-type dopant, a thin barrier layer 154 formed of silicon germanium (e.g., silicon germanium with 70% germanium content), a silicon quantum well layer 152, and a barrier layer 155 formed of silicon germanium (e.g., with 30% germanium content); in such an embodiment, the gates 105-2 may be disposed on the barrier layer 155.
  • the material stack 146 may include a silicon base 102, a doped layer 137 formed of silicon doped with an n-type dopant, a thin barrier layer 154 formed of silicon germanium, and a silicon quantum well layer 152; in such an embodiment, the gates 105-2 may be disposed on the silicon quantum well layer 152.
  • the quantum dot device 100 may include a gate interface material (not shown) between the material stack 146 and the gate dielectric 114.
  • the gate interface material may provide an interface between the material stack 146 and the gate dielectric 114 that has a low total interface trap density (D, t ), reducing the likelihood of scattering that may impede the coherence of the quantum dots 142 formed in the quantum dot device 100.
  • the gate interface material may include any suitable material to improve the D, t of the gates 106/108 on the material stack 146.
  • the gate interface material may include silicon.
  • Silicon may be a particularly useful material for the gate interface material when the material stack 146 includes silicon germanium (e.g., as a barrier layer 154), and the gate interface material is disposed on the silicon germanium.
  • the gate interface material includes silicon
  • the silicon may oxidize (e.g., due to air exposure before the gate dielectric 114 is formed) to form a layer of silicon oxide at the interface between the silicon of the gate interface material and the gate dielectric 114.
  • the gate interface material may include aluminum nitride, aluminum oxynitride, or germanium oxide.
  • the gate interface material may be formed by forming a layer of germanium, then allowing the layer of germanium to oxidize.
  • the gate interface material may be a thin layer grown by epitaxy on a material stack 146.
  • the gate interface material e.g., silicon
  • the gate dielectric 114 e.g., hafnium oxide
  • the interface between the gate interface material and the gate dielectric 114 may have fewer electrical defects than if the gate dielectric 114 were formed directly on the quantum well stack 147.
  • the fins 104 have been illustrated in some of the preceding figures as substantially rectangular with parallel sidewalls, this is simply for ease of illustration, and the fins 104 may have any suitable shape (e.g., a shape appropriate to the manufacturing processes used to form the fins 104).
  • the fins 104 may be tapered, narrowing as they extend away from the base 102 (FIG. 6).
  • the fins 104 may taper by 3-10 nanometers in x-width for every 100 nanometers in z-height (e.g., 5 nanometers in x-width for every 100 nanometers in z-height).
  • a single fin 104 or trench 107 may include multiple groups of the sets of gates 105-1 and 105-2, spaced apart along the fin 104 or trench 107.
  • FIG. 55 is a cross-sectional view of an example of such a quantum dot device 100 (taken from the perspective of FIG. 2) having multiple groups of sets of gates 180 on a single fin 104 or in a single trench 107, in accordance with various embodiments.
  • Each of the groups 180 may include a set of gates 105-1 and a set of gates 105-2 (not labeled in FIG. 55 for ease of illustration) that may take the form of any of the embodiments of the sets of gates 105-1 and 105-2 discussed herein.
  • a doped region 140-1 (and its interface material 141-1) may be disposed between the sets of gates 105-1 of two adjacent groups 180 (labeled in FIG. 55 as groups 180-1 and 180-2), and may provide a common reservoir for the sets of gates 105-1 of both groups 180. In some embodiments, this "common" doped region 140-1 may be electrically contacted by a single conductive via 136-1. Similarly, a common doped region 140-2 may be disposed between the sets of gates 105-2 of two adjacent groups 180.
  • the particular number of gates 106/108 illustrated in FIG. 55, and the particular number of groups 180, is simply illustrative, and a fin 104 or trench 107 may include any suitable number of gates 106/108 arranged in any suitable number of groups 180.
  • FIG. 56 is a cross-sectional view of another embodiment of a quantum dot device 100, in accordance with various embodiments.
  • FIG. 56 represents a cross-sectional view of a quantum dot device 100 taken along the section A-A of FIG. 1 (analogous to FIG. 2) or A-A of FIG. 31 (analogous to FIG. 32); the quantum dot device 100 represented in FIG. 56 may thus take the "overall" form of the embodiment discussed with reference to FIG. 2 or the embodiment discussed with reference to FIG. 32.
  • the quantum dot device 100 of FIG. 56 may share a number of elements with the quantum dot devices 100 discussed above (and thus any of the components or dimensions illustrated in FIG.
  • the quantum dot device 100 of FIG. 56 may take any of the forms disclosed here), but the quantum dot device 100 of FIG. 56 may not include any gates 108. Instead, strain-inducing regions 141 may be included in the quantum well stack 147 in the area that is "underneath" the locations of the gates 108 in the embodiments of FIGS. 2 and 32.
  • the length 168 of the gates 106 in the quantum dot device 100 of FIG. 56 may be equal to or greater than half of the pitch of the gates 106; for example, the length 168 (e.g., 40-70 nanometers) may be greater than or equal to half of the sum of the length 168 and the distance 170 (e.g., a sum equal to 80 nanometers).
  • the quantum dot device 100 of FIG. 56 may be manufactured using any suitable techniques. In some embodiments, the manufacture of the quantum dot device 100 of FIG. 56 may begin as described above with reference to FIGS. 4-15 or FIGS. 32-49; however, manufacturing may proceed as illustrated in FIGS. 57-58 (and described below).
  • FIG. 57 is a cross-sectional view of an assembly 268 subsequent to providing a patterning a photoresist 173 on the assembly 281 of FIG. 15 (or the assembly 266 of FIG. 49).
  • the patterned photoresist 173 may expose the areas between adjacent gates 106, as shown.
  • the photoresist 173 may be any suitable lithographic photoresist, for example.
  • the assembly 268 may include the insulating material 130 in the place of the photoresist 173.
  • FIG. 58 is a cross-sectional view of an assembly 270 subsequent to forming cavities in the exposed areas of the quantum well stack 147 between the gates 106 in the assembly 268 (FIG. 57), then filling these cavities with a strain-inducing material to form the strain-inducing regions 151-1.
  • the formation of the strain-inducing regions 151-1 in the assembly 268 may take the form of any of the embodiments disclosed herein (e.g., as discussed above with reference to FIG. 19).
  • the assembly 270 may be further processed by removing the photoresist 173, then proceeding as discussed above with reference to FIGS. 26-30 to form the quantum dot device 100 of FIG. 56.
  • the strain-inducing regions 151-1 in the assembly 270 may not be provided by etching cavities, then filling the cavities with a strain-inducing material. Instead, the strain-inducing regions 151-1 may be provided by forming a silicide on the quantum well stack 147 between the portions of gate dielectric 114-1 of adjacent gates 106-1.
  • a material e.g., nickel, titanium, aluminum, molybdenum, cobalt, tungsten, or platinum
  • a material may be deposited on the assembly 268 (e.g., using plating, CVD, or ALD), annealed to react with the quantum well stack 147 to form a silicide, then treated to remove the unreacted material (e.g., as discussed above with reference to FIGS. 24-25).
  • strain-inducing regions 151-1 formed by such silicides may advantageously provide compressive strain to the quantum well layer 152-1.
  • the depth of the strain-inducing regions 151-1 formed by silicides may not be as great as strain-inducing regions formed by the cavity filling procedure described above, so silicide-based strain-inducing regions 151-1 may be most advantageous when the quantum well layer 152-1 is close to the "top" surface of the quantum well stack 147 (e.g., when the quantum well layer 152-1 is disposed at the surface of the quantum well stack 147, as illustrated in FIG. 50, or when only a shallow barrier 154/155 separates the quantum well layer 152-1 from the surface of the quantum well stack 147).
  • the gates initially formed on the quantum well stack 147 may not be "real" gates (e.g., gates consisting of a gate metal and gate dielectric that will be included in the final quantum dot device 100), but may be "dummy" gates formed of other materials. Many of the processing operations performed as discussed herein on the gates 106/108 may instead be performed on these dummy gate materials, and at an appropriate time, the dummy gate materials may be replaced with "real" gate materials.
  • the gates 106 may first be formed with dummy materials, then replaced with real materials, or the gates 108 may be formed with dummy materials then replaced with real materials, or both the gates 106 and the gates 108 may first be formed with dummy materials and then replaced with real materials.
  • replacement gate techniques may be advantageous when the processing operations that come after initial gate formation (e.g., as part of a front-end process) involve high temperatures (e.g., during thermal activation of the doped regions 140). Under such high temperatures, some materials that may be included in the gate metals 110/112 and/or the gate dielectric 114 may degrade (e.g., by changing the work function of the gate metals 110/112 and/or the quality of the gate dielectric 114). Thus, it may be preferable to perform many of the manufacturing operations disclosed herein with dummy gate stacks and replace the dummy materials with real materials after the high temperature operations are complete.
  • a quantum dot device 100 may be included in a die and coupled to a package substrate to form a quantum dot device package.
  • FIG. 59 is a side cross- sectional view of a die 302 including the quantum dot device 100 cross section of FIG. 2 and conductive pathway layers 303 disposed thereon
  • FIG. 60 is a side cross-sectional view of a quantum dot device package 300 in which the die 302 is coupled to a package substrate 304 and another die 309. Details of the quantum dot device 100 are omitted from FIG. 60 for economy of illustration. As noted above, the particular quantum dot device 100 illustrated in FIGS.
  • any of the quantum dot devices 100 disclosed herein may be included in a die (e.g., the die 302) and coupled to a package substrate (e.g., the package substrate 304).
  • a die e.g., the die 302
  • a package substrate e.g., the package substrate 304
  • any number of gates 106/108, doped regions 140, and other components discussed herein with reference to various embodiments of the quantum dot device 100 may be included in the die 302.
  • the die 302 may include a first face 320 and an opposing second face 322.
  • Conductive pathways 315-1 from various components of the quantum dot device 100 may extend to conductive contacts 365 disposed at the first face 320.
  • the conductive pathways 315-1 may include conductive vias, conductive lines, and/or any combination of conductive vias and lines extending from the gate 106-1/108-1 and the doped regions 140-1, for example.
  • FIG. 59 illustrates an embodiment in which a conductive pathway 315-1 (extending between a doped region 140-1 and associated conductive contact 365 disposed at the first face 320) includes a conductive via 136-1, a conductive line 393, a conductive via 398, and a conductive line 396.
  • Conductive pathways 315-2 from various components of the quantum dot device 100 may extend to conductive contacts 365 disposed at the second face 322.
  • the conductive pathways 315-2 may include conductive vias, conductive lines, and/or any combination of conductive vias and lines extending from the gate 106- 2/108-2 and the doped regions 140-2, for example.
  • FIG. 59 illustrates an embodiment in which a conductive pathway 315-2 (extending between a doped region 140-2 and associated conductive contact 365 disposed at the second face 322) includes a conductive via 136-2, a conductive line 393, a conductive via 398, and a conductive line 396.
  • conductive pathways 315 More or fewer structures may be included in the conductive pathways 315, and analogous conductive pathways 315 may be provided between ones of the conductive contacts 365 and the gates 106/108 (and any other components included in the quantum dot device 100).
  • conductive lines of the die 302 (and the package substrate 304 and the die 309, discussed below) may extend into and out of the plane of the drawing, providing conductive pathways to route electrical signals to and/or from various elements in the die 302.
  • Conductive contacts 365 at the first face 320 and the second face 322 of the die 302 may make the die 302 a "double-sided" die.
  • the conductive pathways 315-1 disposed between components proximate to the first face 117-1 of the quantum dot device 100 and the conductive contacts 365 at the first face 320 of the die 302 may be arranged in a mirror image arrangement with reference to the conductive pathways 315-2 disposed between components proximate to the second face 117-2 of the quantum dot device 100 and the conductive contacts 365 at the second face 322 of the die 302.
  • the conductive vias and/or lines that provide the conductive pathways 315 in the die 302 may be formed using any suitable techniques. Examples of such techniques may include subtractive fabrication techniques, additive or semi-additive fabrication techniques, single Damascene fabrication techniques, dual Damascene fabrication techniques, or any other suitable technique.
  • layers of oxide material 390 and layers of nitride material 391 may insulate various structures in the conductive pathways 315 from proximate structures, and/or may serve as etch stops during fabrication.
  • an adhesion layer (not shown) may be disposed between conductive material and proximate insulating material of the die 302 to improve mechanical adhesion between the conductive material and the insulating material.
  • the gates 108, the doped regions 140, and the quantum well stack 147 may be referred to as part of the "device layer" of the quantum dot device 100.
  • the conductive lines 393 may be referred to as a Metal 1 or "Ml" interconnect layer, and may couple the structures in the device layer to other interconnect structures.
  • the conductive vias 398 and the conductive lines 396 may be referred to as a Metal 2 or "M2" interconnect layer, and may be formed directly on the Ml interconnect layer.
  • a solder resist material 367 may be disposed around the conductive contacts 365, and in some embodiments may extend onto the conductive contacts 365.
  • the solder resist material 367 may be a polyimide or similar material, or may be any appropriate type of packaging solder resist material.
  • the solder resist material 367 may be a liquid or dry film material including photoimageable polymers.
  • the solder resist material 367 may be non-photoimageable (and openings therein may be formed using laser drilling or masked etch techniques).
  • the conductive contacts 365 may provide the contacts to couple other components (e.g., a package substrate 304, as discussed below, or another component) to the conductive pathways 315 in the quantum dot device 100, and may be formed of any suitable conductive material (e.g., a superconducting material). For example, solder bonds may be formed on the one or more conductive contacts 365 to mechanically and/or electrically couple the die 302 with another component (e.g., a circuit board), as discussed below.
  • the conductive contacts 365 illustrated in FIG. 59 take the form of bond pads, but other first level interconnect structures may be used (e.g., posts) to route electrical signals to/from the die 302, as discussed below.
  • the combination of the conductive pathways and the proximate insulating material (e.g., the insulating material 130, the oxide material 390, and the nitride material 391) in the die 302 may provide an interlayer dielectric (ILD) stack of the die 302.
  • the die 302 of FIG. 59 may include two ILD stacks, as shown.
  • interconnect structures may be arranged within the quantum dot device 100 to route electrical signals according to a wide variety of designs (in particular, the arrangement is not limited to the particular configuration of interconnect structures depicted in FIG. 59 or any of the other accompanying figures, and may include more or fewer interconnect structures).
  • electrical signals may be routed to and/or from the gates 108 and/or the doped regions 140 (and/or other components) of the quantum dot device 100 through the interconnects provided by conductive vias and/or lines, and through the conductive pathways of the package substrate 304 (discussed below).
  • Example superconducting materials that may be used for the structures in the conductive pathways 313 (discussed below) and 315, and/or conductive contacts of the die 302 and/or the package substrate 304 may include aluminum, niobium, tin, titanium, osmium, zinc, molybdenum, tantalum, vanadium, or composites of such materials (e.g., niobium-titanium, niobium-aluminum, or niobium-tin).
  • the conductive contacts 365, 379, and/or 399 may include aluminum
  • the first level interconnects 306 and/or the second level interconnects 308 may include an indium-based solder.
  • first level interconnects 306 may be disposed between the first face 320 of the die 302 and the second face 326 of a package substrate 304.
  • First level interconnects 307 may also be disposed between the second face 322 of the die 302 and the first face 327 of a die 309.
  • first level interconnects 306/307 disposed between the die 302 and the package substrate 304/die 309 may enable the quantum dot device package 300 to achieve a smaller footprint and higher die-to-package-substrate connection density than could be achieved using conventional wirebond techniques (in which conductive contacts between the die 302 and the package substrate 304, e.g., are constrained to be located on the periphery of the die 302).
  • a die 302 having a square first face 320 with side length N may be able to form only 4N wirebond interconnects to the package substrate 304, versus N 2 flip chip interconnects (utilizing the entire "full field" surface area of the first face 320). Additionally, in some applications, wirebond interconnects may generate unacceptable amounts of heat that may damage or otherwise interfere with the performance of the quantum dot device 100.
  • solder bumps as the first level interconnects 306/307 may enable the quantum dot device package 300 to have much lower parasitic inductance relative to using wirebonds to couple the die 302 and the package substrate 304 (and/or the die 302 and the die 309), which may result in an improvement in signal integrity for highspeed signals communicated between the die 302 and the package substrate 304/die 309.
  • the package substrate 304 may include a first face 324 and an opposing second face 326. Conductive contacts 399 may be disposed at the first face 324, and conductive contacts 379 may be disposed at the second face 326. Solder resist material 314 may be disposed around the conductive contacts 379, and solder resist material 312 may be disposed around the conductive contacts 399; the solder resist materials 314 and 312 may take any of the forms discussed above with reference to the solder resist material 367. In some embodiments, the solder resist material 312 and/or the solder resist material 314 may be omitted.
  • Conductive pathways 313 may extend through insulating material 310 between the first face 324 and the second face 326 of the package substrate 304, electrically coupling various ones of the conductive contacts 399 to various ones of the conductive contacts 379, in any desired manner.
  • the insulating material 310 may be a dielectric material (e.g., an ILD), and may take the form of any of the embodiments of the insulating material 130 disclosed herein, for example.
  • the conductive pathways 313 may include one or more conductive vias 395 and/or one or more conductive lines 397, for example.
  • the die 309 may include a first face 327 at which conductive contacts 380 are disposed.
  • Solder resist material 317 may be disposed around the conductive contacts 380; the solder resist material 317 may take any of the forms discussed above. In some embodiments, the solder resist material 317 may be omitted.
  • the die 309 may include any desired active or passive electronics, or may itself be an interposer or other component.
  • the quantum dot device package 300 may be a cored package, one in which the package substrate 304 is built on a carrier material (not shown) that remains in the package substrate 304.
  • the carrier material may be a dielectric material that is part of the insulating material 310; laser vias or other through-holes may be made through the carrier material to allow conductive pathways 313 to extend between the first face 324 and the second face 326.
  • the package substrate 304 may be or may otherwise include a silicon interposer, and the conductive pathways 313 may be through-silicon vias.
  • Silicon may have a desirably low coefficient of thermal expansion compared with other dielectric materials that may be used for the insulating material 310, and thus may limit the degree to which the package substrate 304 expands and contracts during temperature changes relative to such other materials (e.g., polymers having higher coefficients of thermal expansion).
  • a silicon interposer may also help the package substrate 304 achieve a desirably small line width and maintain high connection density to the die 302.
  • thermal expansion and contraction in the package substrate 304 may be managed by maintaining an approximately uniform density of the conductive material in the package substrate 304 (so that different portions of the package substrate 304 expand and contract uniformly), using reinforced dielectric materials as the insulating material 310 (e.g., dielectric materials with silicon dioxide fillers), or utilizing stiffer materials as the insulating material 310 (e.g., a prepreg material including glass cloth fibers).
  • the conductive contacts 365 of the die 302 may be electrically coupled to the conductive contacts 379 of the package substrate 304 via the first level interconnects 306. In some
  • the first level interconnects 306 may include solder bumps or balls (as illustrated in FIG. 60); for example, the first level interconnects 306 may be flip chip (or controlled collapse chip connection, "C4") bumps disposed initially on the die 302 or on the package substrate 304.
  • the first level interconnects 307 may take any of the forms described herein with reference to the first level interconnects 306.
  • Second level interconnects 308 e.g., solder balls or other types of interconnects
  • the die 302 may be brought in contact with the package substrate 304 using a pick-and-place apparatus, for example, and a reflow or thermal compression bonding operation may be used to couple the die 302 to the package substrate 304 via the first level interconnects 306. Similar techniques may be used to bond the die 309 to the die 302.
  • the conductive contacts 365, 379, 380, and/or 399 may include multiple layers of material that may be selected to serve different purposes.
  • the conductive contacts 365, 379, 380, and/or 399 may be formed of aluminum, and may include a layer of gold (e.g., with a thickness of less than 1 micron) between the aluminum and the adjacent interconnect to limit the oxidation of the surface of the contacts and improve the adhesion with adjacent solder.
  • the conductive contacts 365, 379, 380, and/or 399 may be formed of aluminum, and may include a layer of a barrier metal such as nickel, as well as a layer of gold, wherein the layer of barrier metal is disposed between the aluminum and the layer of gold, and the layer of gold is disposed between the barrier metal and the adjacent interconnect.
  • the gold may protect the barrier metal surface from oxidation before assembly, and the barrier metal may limit the diffusion of solder from the adjacent interconnects into the aluminum.
  • the structures and materials in the quantum dot device 100 may be damaged if the quantum dot device 100 is exposed to the high temperatures that are common in conventional integrated circuit processing (e.g., greater than 100 degrees Celsius, or greater than 200 degrees Celsius).
  • the solder may be a low-temperature solder (e.g., a solder having a melting point below 100 degrees Celsius) so that it can be melted to couple the conductive contacts 365 and the conductive contacts 379/380 without having to expose the die 302 to higher temperatures and risk damaging the quantum dot device 100.
  • solders examples include indium- based solders (e.g., solders including indium alloys). When low-temperature solders are used, however, these solders may not be fully solid during handling of the quantum dot device package 300 (e.g., at room temperature or temperatures between room temperature and 100 degrees Celsius), and thus the solder of the first level interconnects 306/307 alone may not reliably mechanically couple the die 302 and the package substrate 304/die 309 (and thus may not reliably electrically couple the die 302 and the package substrate 304/die 309).
  • indium- based solders e.g., solders including indium alloys.
  • the quantum dot device package 300 may further include a mechanical stabilizer to maintain mechanical coupling between the die 302 and the package substrate 304/die 309, even when solder of the first level interconnects 306/307 is not solid.
  • mechanical stabilizers may include an underfill material disposed between the die 302 and the package substrate 304/die 309, a corner glue disposed between the die 302 and the package substrate 304/die 309, an overmold material disposed around the die 302 on the package substrate 304/die 309, and/or a mechanical frame to secure the die 302 and the package substrate 304/die 309.
  • FIGS. 61A-B are top views of a wafer 450 and dies 452 that may be formed from the wafer 450; the dies 452 may be included in any of the quantum dot device packages (e.g., the quantum dot device package 300) disclosed herein.
  • the wafer 450 may include semiconductor material and may include one or more dies 452 having conventional and quantum dot device elements formed on a surface of the wafer 450.
  • Each of the dies 452 may be a repeating unit of a semiconductor product that includes any suitable conventional and/or quantum dot device.
  • the wafer 450 may undergo a singulation process in which each of the dies 452 is separated from one another to provide discrete "chips" of the semiconductor product.
  • a die 452 may include one or more quantum dot devices 100 and/or supporting circuitry to route electrical signals to the quantum dot devices 100 (e.g., interconnects including conductive vias and lines), as well as any other IC components.
  • the wafer 450 or the die 452 may include a memory device (e.g., a static random access memory (SRAM) device), a logic device (e.g., AND, OR, NAND, or NOR gate), or any other suitable circuit element. Multiple ones of these devices may be combined on a single die 452.
  • SRAM static random access memory
  • logic device e.g., AND, OR, NAND, or NOR gate
  • a memory array formed by multiple memory devices may be formed on a same die 452 as a processing device (e.g., the processing device 2002 of FIG. 65) or other logic that is configured to store information in the memory devices or execute instructions stored in the memory array.
  • the dies 452 may take the form of the die 300, for example.
  • FIG. 62 is a cross-sectional side view of a device assembly 400 that may include any of the embodiments of the quantum dot device packages 300 disclosed herein.
  • the device assembly 400 includes a number of components disposed on a circuit board 402.
  • the device assembly 400 may include components disposed on a first face 440 of the circuit board 402 and an opposing second face 442 of the circuit board 402; generally, components may be disposed on one or both faces 440 and 442.
  • Any of the components of the device assembly 400 may include a double-sided die 302 or double-sided quantum dot device package 300, as appropriate, even if illustrated as "single-sided" in FIG. 62.
  • the circuit board 402 may be a printed circuit board (PCB) including multiple metal layers separated from one another by layers of dielectric material and interconnected by electrically conductive vias. Any one or more of the metal layers may be formed in a desired circuit pattern to route electrical signals (optionally in conjunction with other metal layers) between the components coupled to the circuit board 402.
  • the circuit board 402 may be a package substrate or flexible board.
  • the device assembly 400 illustrated in FIG. 62 includes a package-on-interposer structure 436 coupled to the first face 440 of the circuit board 402 by coupling components 416.
  • the coupling components 416 may electrically and mechanically couple the package-on-interposer structure 436 to the circuit board 402, and may include solder balls (as shown in FIG. 62), male and female portions of a socket, an adhesive, an underfill material, and/or any other suitable electrical and/or mechanical coupling structure.
  • the package-on-interposer structure 436 may include a package 420 coupled to an interposer 404 by coupling components 418.
  • the coupling components 418 may take any suitable form for the application, such as the forms discussed above with reference to the coupling components 416.
  • the coupling components 418 may be the second level interconnects 308.
  • a single package 420 is shown in FIG. 62, multiple packages may be coupled to the interposer 404; indeed, additional interposers may be coupled to the interposer 404.
  • the interposer 404 may provide an intervening substrate used to bridge the circuit board 402 and the package 420.
  • the package 420 may be a quantum dot device package 300 or may be a conventional IC package, for example.
  • the package 420 may take the form of any of the embodiments of the quantum dot device package 300 disclosed herein, and may include a quantum dot device die 302 coupled to a package substrate 304 (e.g., by flip chip connections).
  • the interposer 404 may spread a connection to a wider pitch or reroute a connection to a different connection.
  • the interposer 404 may couple the package 420 (e.g., a die) to a ball grid array (BGA) of the coupling components 416 for coupling to the circuit board 402.
  • BGA ball grid array
  • the package 420 and the circuit board 402 are attached to opposing sides of the interposer 404; in other embodiments, the package 420 and the circuit board 402 may be attached to a same side of the interposer 404. In some embodiments, three or more components may be
  • interconnecter 404 interconnected by way of the interposer 404.
  • the interposer 404 may be formed of an epoxy resin, a fiberglass-reinforced epoxy resin, a ceramic material, or a polymer material such as polyimide. In some embodiments, the interposer 404 may be formed of alternate rigid or flexible materials that may include the same materials described above for use in a semiconductor substrate, such as silicon, germanium, and other group lll-V and group IV materials.
  • the interposer 404 may include metal interconnects 408 and vias 410, including but not limited to through-silicon vias (TSVs) 406.
  • TSVs through-silicon vias
  • the interposer 404 may further include embedded devices 414, including both passive and active devices.
  • Such devices may include, but are not limited to, capacitors, decoupling capacitors, resistors, inductors, fuses, diodes, transformers, sensors, electrostatic discharge (ESD) devices, and memory devices. More complex devices such as radio-frequency ( F) devices, power amplifiers, power management devices, antennas, arrays, sensors, and microelectromechanical systems (M EMS) devices may also be formed on the interposer 404.
  • the package-on-interposer structure 436 may take the form of any of the package-on- interposer structures known in the art.
  • the device assembly 400 may include a package 424 coupled to the first face 440 of the circuit board 402 by coupling components 422.
  • the coupling components 422 may take the form of any of the embodiments discussed above with reference to the coupling components 416
  • the package 424 may take the form of any of the embodiments discussed above with reference to the package 420.
  • the package 424 may be a quantum dot device package 300 or may be a conventional IC package, for example.
  • the package 424 may take the form of any of the embodiments of the quantum dot device package 300 disclosed herein, and may include a quantum dot device die 302 coupled to a package substrate 304 (e.g., by flip chip connections).
  • the device assembly 400 illustrated in FIG. 62 includes a package-on-package structure 434 coupled to the second face 442 of the circuit board 402 by coupling components 428.
  • the package- on-package structure 434 may include a package 426 and a package 432 coupled together by coupling components 430 such that the package 426 is disposed between the circuit board 402 and the package 432.
  • the package 426 may include the die 302 and the substrate 304; the package 432 may couple to the other side of the die 302.
  • the coupling components 428 and 430 may take the form of any of the embodiments of the coupling components 416 discussed above, and the packages 426 and 432 may take the form of any of the embodiments of the package 420 discussed above.
  • Each of the packages 426 and 432 may be a quantum dot device package 300 or may be a conventional IC package, for example.
  • one or both of the packages 426 and 432 may take the form of any of the embodiments of the quantum dot device package 300 disclosed herein, and may include a die 302 coupled to a package substrate 304 (e.g., by flip chip connections).
  • FIG. 63 is a flow diagram of an illustrative method 1000 of manufacturing a quantum dot device, in accordance with various embodiments. Although the operations discussed below with reference to the method 1000 are illustrated in a particular order and depicted once each, these operations may be repeated or performed in a different order (e.g., in parallel), as suitable. Additionally, various operations may be omitted, as suitable. Various operations of the method 1000 may be illustrated with reference to one or more of the
  • the method 1000 may be used to manufacture any suitable quantum dot device (including any suitable ones of the embodiments disclosed herein).
  • a quantum well stack may be formed.
  • the quantum well stack may include a quantum well layer and multiple lattice mismatch material regions at least partially disposed in the quantum well layer.
  • a quantum well stack 147 may include one or more quantum well layers 152 and multiple strain-inducing regions 151 that extend into one or more of the quantum well layers 152 (e.g., as discussed above with reference to FIGS. 4-10 and 18-19).
  • gates may be formed.
  • the gates may be above the quantum well stack.
  • gates 106-1 and 108-1 may be formed proximate to the quantum well layer 152-1 (e.g., as discussed above with reference to FIGS. 11-17 and 20-22).
  • gates 106-2 and 108- 2 may be formed proximate to the quantum well layer 152-2 (e.g., as discussed above with reference to FIG. 30).
  • FIG. 64 is a flow diagram of a particular illustrative method 1020 of operating a quantum dot device, in accordance with various embodiments. Although the operations discussed below with reference to the method 1020 are illustrated in a particular order and depicted once each, these operations may be repeated or performed in a different order (e.g., in parallel), as suitable. Additionally, various operations may be omitted, as suitable. Various operations of the method 1020 may be illustrated with reference to one or more of the embodiments discussed above, but the method 1020 may be used to operate any suitable quantum dot device (including any suitable ones of the embodiments disclosed herein).
  • electrical signals may be applied to a first set of gates disposed proximate to a first face of a quantum well stack to cause a first quantum dot to form in a first quantum well layer in the quantum well stack under the first set of gates.
  • Multiple first lattice mismatch material regions may be at least partially disposed in the first quantum well layer.
  • one or more voltages may be applied through the conductive vias 120-1/122-1 to the gates 106-1/108-1 (part of conductive pathways that extend to the first face 117-1) on a quantum well stack 147 to cause at least one quantum dot 142-1 to form in the quantum well layer 152-1.
  • strain-inducing regions 151-1 may be at least partially disposed in the quantum well layer 152-1 (e.g., inducing strain in the quantum well layer 152-1 and providing passive potential barriers between the areas under adjacent gates).
  • electrical signals may be applied to a second set of gates disposed proximate to a second face of the quantum well stack to cause a second quantum dot to form in a second quantum well layer in the quantum well stack under the second set of gates.
  • the first and second quantum well layers may be spaced apart, and multiple second lattice mismatch material regions may be at least partially disposed in the second quantum well layer.
  • one or more voltages may be applied through the conductive vias 120-2/122-2 to the gates 106-2/108-2 (part of conductive pathways that extend to the second face 117-2) on a quantum well stack 147 to cause at least one quantum dot 142-2 to form in the quantum well layer 152-2.
  • Multiple strain-inducing regions 151-2 may be at least partially disposed in the quantum well layer 152-2.
  • a quantum state of the first quantum dot may be sensed with the second quantum dot.
  • a quantum state of a quantum dot 142-1 in the quantum well layer 152-1 may be sensed by a quantum dot 142-2 in the quantum well layer 152-2.
  • FIG. 65 is a block diagram of an example quantum computing device 2000 that may include any of the quantum dot devices disclosed herein.
  • a number of components are illustrated in FIG. 65 as included in the quantum computing device 2000, but any one or more of these components may be omitted or duplicated, as suitable for the application.
  • some or all of the components included in the quantum computing device 2000 may be attached to one or more printed circuit boards (e.g., a motherboard).
  • various ones of these components may be fabricated onto a single system-on-a-chip (SoC) die.
  • the quantum computing device 2000 may not include one or more of the components illustrated in FIG. 65, but the quantum computing device 2000 may include interface circuitry for coupling to the one or more components.
  • the quantum computing device 2000 may not include a display device 2006, but may include display device interface circuitry (e.g., a connector and driver circuitry) to which a display device 2006 may be coupled.
  • the quantum computing device 2000 may not include an audio input device 2024 or an audio output device 2008, but may include audio input or output device interface circuitry (e.g., connectors and supporting circuitry) to which an audio input device 2024 or audio output device 2008 may be coupled.
  • the quantum computing device 2000 may include a processing device 2002 (e.g., one or more processing devices).
  • processing device e.g., one or more processing devices.
  • the term "processing device” or “processor” may refer to any device or portion of a device that processes electronic data from registers and/or memory to transform that electronic data into other electronic data that may be stored in registers and/or memory.
  • the processing device 2002 may include a quantum processing device 2026 (e.g., one or more quantum processing devices), and a non-quantum processing device 2028 (e.g., one or more non-quantum processing devices).
  • the quantum processing device 2026 may include one or more of the quantum dot devices 100 disclosed herein, and may perform data processing by performing operations on the quantum dots that may be generated in the quantum dot devices 100, and monitoring the result of those operations. For example, as discussed above, different quantum dots may be allowed to interact, the quantum states of different quantum dots may be set or transformed, and the quantum states of quantum dots may be read (e.g., by another quantum dot).
  • the quantum processing device 2026 may be a universal quantum processor, or specialized quantum processor configured to run one or more particular quantum algorithms. In some embodiments, the quantum processing device 2026 may execute algorithms that are particularly suitable for quantum computers, such as cryptographic algorithms that utilize prime factorization, encryption/decryption, algorithms to optimize chemical reactions, algorithms to model protein folding, etc.
  • the quantum processing device 2026 may also include support circuitry to support the processing capability of the quantum processing device 2026, such as input/output channels, multiplexers, signal mixers, quantum amplifiers, and analog-to-digital converters.
  • the processing device 2002 may include a non-quantum processing device 2028.
  • the non-quantum processing device 2028 may provide peripheral logic to support the operation of the quantum processing device 2026.
  • the non-quantum processing device 2028 may control the performance of a read operation, control the performance of a write operation, control the clearing of quantum bits, etc.
  • the non-quantum processing device 2028 may also perform conventional computing functions to supplement the computing functions provided by the quantum processing device 2026.
  • the non-quantum processing device 2028 may interface with one or more of the other components of the quantum computing device 2000 (e.g., the communication chip 2012 discussed below, the display device 2006 discussed below, etc.) in a conventional manner, and may serve as an interface between the quantum processing device 2026 and conventional components.
  • the non-quantum processing device 2028 may include one or more digital signal processors (DSPs), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), central processing units (CPUs), graphics processing units (GPUs), cryptoprocessors (specialized processors that execute cryptographic algorithms within hardware), server processors, or any other suitable processing devices.
  • DSPs digital signal processors
  • ASICs application-specific integrated circuits
  • CPUs central processing units
  • GPUs graphics processing units
  • cryptoprocessors specialized processors that execute cryptographic algorithms within hardware
  • server processors or any other suitable processing devices.
  • the quantum computing device 2000 may include a memory 2004, which may itself include one or more memory devices such as volatile memory (e.g., dynamic random access memory (DRAM)), nonvolatile memory (e.g., read-only memory (ROM)), flash memory, solid state memory, and/or a hard drive.
  • volatile memory e.g., dynamic random access memory (DRAM)
  • nonvolatile memory e.g., read-only memory (ROM)
  • flash memory solid state memory
  • solid state memory solid state memory
  • hard drive solid state memory
  • the states of qubits in the quantum processing device 2026 may be read and stored in the memory 2004.
  • the memory 2004 may include memory that shares a die with the non-quantum processing device 2028. This memory may be used as cache memory and may include embedded dynamic random access memory (eDRAM) or spin transfer torque magnetic random-access memory (STT-MRAM).
  • eDRAM embedded dynamic random access memory
  • STT-MRAM spin transfer torque magnetic random-access memory
  • the quantum computing device 2000 may include a cooling apparatus 2030.
  • the cooling apparatus 2030 may maintain the quantum processing device 2026 at a predetermined low temperature during operation to reduce the effects of scattering in the quantum processing device 2026. This predetermined low temperature may vary depending on the setting; in some
  • the temperature may be 5 degrees Kelvin or less.
  • the non- quantum processing device 2028 (and various other components of the quantum computing device 2000) may not be cooled by the cooling apparatus 2030, and may instead operate at room temperature.
  • the cooling apparatus 2030 may be, for example, a dilution refrigerator, a helium-3 refrigerator, or a liquid helium refrigerator.
  • the quantum computing device 2000 may include a communication chip 2012 (e.g., one or more communication chips).
  • the communication chip 2012 may be configured for managing wireless communications for the transfer of data to and from the quantum computing device 2000.
  • wireless and its derivatives may be used to describe circuits, devices, systems, methods, techniques, communications channels, etc., that may communicate data through the use of modulated electromagnetic radiation through a nonsolid medium. The term does not imply that the associated devices do not contain any wires, although in some embodiments they might not.
  • the communication chip 2012 may implement any of a number of wireless standards or protocols, including but not limited to Institute for Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) standards including Wi-Fi (IEEE 1402.11 family), IEEE 1402.16 standards (e.g., IEEE 1402.16-2005 Amendment), Long-Term Evolution (LTE) project along with any amendments, updates, and/or revisions (e.g., advanced LTE project, ultramobile broadband (UM B) project (also referred to as "3GPP2”), etc.).
  • IEEE 1402.16 compatible Broadband Wireless Access (BWA) networks are generally referred to as WiMAX networks, an acronym that stands for Worldwide Interoperability for
  • Microwave Access which is a certification mark for products that pass conformity
  • the communication chip 2012 may operate in accordance with a Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM), General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), High Speed Packet Access (HSPA), Evolved HSPA (E-HSPA), or LTE network.
  • GSM Global System for Mobile Communication
  • GPRS General Packet Radio Service
  • UMTS Universal Mobile Telecommunications System
  • High Speed Packet Access HSPA
  • E-HSPA Evolved HSPA
  • LTE LTE network.
  • the communication chip 2012 may operate in accordance with Enhanced Data for GSM Evolution (EDGE), GSM EDGE Radio Access Network (GERAN), Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRAN), or Evolved UTRAN (E-UTRAN).
  • EDGE Enhanced Data for GSM Evolution
  • GERAN GSM EDGE Radio Access Network
  • UTRAN Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network
  • E-UTRAN Evolved UTRAN
  • the communication chip 2012 may operate in accordance with Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecomm unications (DECT), Evolution-Data Optimized (EV-DO), and derivatives thereof, as well as any other wireless protocols that are designated as 3G, 4G, 5G, and beyond.
  • CDMA Code Division Multiple Access
  • TDMA Time Division Multiple Access
  • DECT Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecomm unications
  • EV-DO Evolution-Data Optimized
  • derivatives thereof as well as any other wireless protocols that are designated as 3G, 4G, 5G, and beyond.
  • the communication chip 2012 may operate in accordance with other wireless protocols in other embodiments.
  • the quantum computing device 2000 may include an antenna 2022 to facilitate wireless communications and/or to receive other wireless
  • the communication chip 2012 may manage wired communications, such as electrical, optical, or any other suitable communication protocols (e.g., the Ethernet).
  • the communication chip 2012 may include m ultiple communication chips.
  • a first communication chip 2012 may be dedicated to shorter-range wireless
  • a second communication chip 2012 may be dedicated to longer-range wireless communications such as GPS, EDGE, GPRS, CDMA, WiMAX, LTE, EV-DO, or others.
  • a first communication chip 2012 may be dedicated to wireless communications, and a second communication chip 2012 may be dedicated to wired communications.
  • the quantum computing device 2000 may include battery/power circuitry 2014.
  • the battery/power circuitry 2014 may include one or more energy storage devices (e.g., batteries or capacitors) and/or circuitry for coupling components of the quantum computing device 2000 to an energy source separate from the quantum computing device 2000 (e.g., AC line power).
  • the quantum computing device 2000 may include a display device 2006 (or corresponding interface circuitry, as discussed above).
  • the display device 2006 may include any visual indicators, such as a heads-up display, a computer monitor, a projector, a touchscreen display, a liquid crystal display (LCD), a light-emitting diode display, or a flat panel display, for example.
  • LCD liquid crystal display
  • the quantum computing device 2000 may include an audio output device 2008 (or corresponding interface circuitry, as discussed above).
  • the audio output device 2008 may include any device that generates an audible indicator, such as speakers, headsets, or earbuds, for example.
  • the quantum computing device 2000 may include an audio input device 2024 (or corresponding interface circuitry, as discussed above).
  • the audio input device 2024 may include any device that generates a signal representative of a sound, such as microphones, microphone arrays, or digital instruments (e.g., instruments having a musical instrument digital interface (M I DI) output).
  • M I DI musical instrument digital interface
  • the quantum computing device 2000 may include a global positioning system (GPS) device 2018 (or corresponding interface circuitry, as discussed above).
  • GPS global positioning system
  • the GPS device 2018 may be in communication with a satellite-based system and may receive a location of the quantum computing device 2000, as known in the art.
  • the quantum computing device 2000 may include an other output device 2010 (or corresponding interface circuitry, as discussed above).
  • Examples of the other output device 2010 may include an audio codec, a video codec, a printer, a wired or wireless transmitter for providing information to other devices, or an additional storage device.
  • the quantum computing device 2000 may include an other input device 2020 (or corresponding interface circuitry, as discussed above).
  • Examples of the other input device 2020 may include an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a compass, an image capture device, a keyboard, a cursor control device such as a mouse, a stylus, a touchpad, a bar code reader, a Quick Response (QR) code reader, any sensor, or a radio frequency identification (RFID) reader.
  • RFID radio frequency identification
  • the quantum computing device 2000 may have any appropriate form factor, such as a hand-held or mobile computing device (e.g., a cell phone, a smart phone, a mobile internet device, a music player, a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a netbook computer, an ultrabook computer, a personal digital assistant (PDA), an ultramobile personal computer, etc.), a desktop computing device, a server or other networked computing component, a printer, a scanner, a monitor, a set-top box, an entertainment control unit, a vehicle control unit, a digital camera, a digital video recorder, or a wearable computing device.
  • a hand-held or mobile computing device e.g., a cell phone, a smart phone, a mobile internet device, a music player, a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a netbook computer, an ultrabook computer, a personal digital assistant (PDA), an ultramobile personal computer, etc.
  • PDA personal digital assistant
  • any of the quantum dot devices 100 (or associated methods or devices) discussed herein may include three or more quantum well layers 152, in accordance with the teachings of the present disclosure.
  • various ones of the quantum dot devices 100 disclosed herein may be regarded as stacked quantum well structures including two or more quantum well layers 152.
  • a double quantum well structure in a quantum dot device 100 may include two or more quantum well layers 152.
  • the gates 106 may not be included in a quantum dot device 100, and instead, the gates 106 may be replaced by an insulating material; in such embodiments, electrical signals provided to the gates 108 may be used to control formation of quantum dots 142 in the quantum dot device 100.
  • the gates 108 may be not be included in a quantum dot device 100, and instead, the gates 108 may be replaced by an insulating material.
  • Example 1 is a device, including: a quantum well stack of a quantum dot device, wherein the quantum well stack includes a barrier layer and a quantum well layer; a plurality of gates disposed on the quantum well stack such that the barrier layer is disposed between the plurality of gates and the quantum well layer; and a plurality of strain material regions disposed in the quantum well stack, wherein the strain material regions extend through the barrier layer and into the quantum well layer, and a lattice constant of the strain material regions is different from a lattice constant of the quantum well layer.
  • Example 2 may include the subject matter of Example 1, and may further include a reservoir of charge carriers.
  • Example 3 may include the subject matter of Example 2, and may further specify that the reservoir of charge carriers is a doped layer of the quantum well stack.
  • Example 4 may include the subject matter of Example 2, and may further specify that the reservoir of charge carriers includes multiple doped regions between which the quantum well layer extends.
  • Example 5 may include the subject matter of any of Examples 2-4, and may further specify that the lattice constant of the strain material regions is greater than the lattice constant of the quantum well layer, and the charge carriers are holes.
  • Example 6 may include the subject matter of any of Examples 2-4, and may further specify that the lattice constant of the strain material regions is less than the lattice constant of the quantum well layer, and the charge carriers are electrons.
  • Example 7 may include the subject matter of any of Examples 1-6, and may further specify that the barrier layer includes silicon germanium, and the quantum well layer includes intrinsic silicon or intrinsic germanium.
  • Example 8 may include the subject matter of any of Examples 1-7, and may further specify that the strain material regions include silicon germanium.
  • Example 9 may include the subject matter of any of Examples 1-8, and may further specify that the quantum well layer is a first quantum well layer, the quantum well stack further includes a second quantum well layer, the plurality of gates is a first set of gates, and the first set of gates is disposed on the quantum well stack such that the first quantum well layer is disposed between the first set of gates and the second quantum well layer.
  • Example 10 may include the subject matter of Example 9, and may further include a plurality of second gates disposed on the quantum well stack, wherein the plurality of second gates is a second set of gates, and the second set of gates is disposed on the quantum well stack such that the second quantum well layer is disposed between the second set of gates and the first quantum well layer.
  • Example 11 may include the subject matter of Example 10, and may further specify that the plurality of strain material regions is a plurality of first strain material regions, and the device further includes a plurality of second strain material regions disposed in the quantum well stack, wherein the second strain material regions extend into the second quantum well layer, and a lattice constant of the second strain material regions is different from a lattice constant of the second quantum well layer.
  • Example 12 may include the subject matter of any of Examples 1-11, and may further specify that the quantum well stack is included in a fin having an insulating material disposed on opposite faces.
  • Example 13 may include the subject matter of Example 12, and may further include a second fin including another quantum well stack.
  • Example 14 may include the subject matter of any of Examples 1-11, and may further specify that the gates are at least partially disposed in a trench in a first insulating material, and the gates extend over the first insulating material.
  • Example 15 is a method of manufacturing a quantum dot device, including: forming a quantum well stack, wherein the quantum well stack includes a barrier layer, a quantum well layer, and a plurality of strain material regions, the strain material regions extend from the barrier layer into the quantum well layer, and a lattice constant of the strain material regions is different from a lattice constant of the quantum well layer; forming a plurality of gates such that the barrier layer is disposed between the plurality of gates and the quantum well layer; and forming conductive pathways to the plurality of gates through an interlayer dielectric.
  • Example 16 may include the subject matter of Example 15, and may further specify that forming the quantum well stack includes forming the quantum well layer and the barrier layer by epitaxy.
  • Example 17 may include the subject matter of any of Examples 15-16, and may further specify that forming the quantum well stack includes: forming recesses in the barrier layer and at least partially in the quantum well layer; and providing strain material in the recesses to form the strain material regions.
  • Example 18 may include the subject matter of Example 17, and may further specify that providing the strain material in the recesses includes epitaxy of the strain material.
  • Example 19 may include the subject matter of any of Examples 15-18, and may further specify that the quantum well layer includes silicon or germanium, and the strain material includes silicon germanium.
  • Example 20 may include the subject matter of any of Examples 15-19, and may further specify that gate metal of the plurality of gates is provided to the quantum dot device before the strain material regions are formed.
  • Example 21 may include the subject matter of any of Examples 15-20, and may further specify that forming the quantum well stack includes forming a doped layer in the quantum well stack, and the quantum well layer is spaced apart from the doped layer in the quantum well stack.
  • Example 22 may include the subject matter of any of Examples 15-21, and may further include: before forming the strain material regions, forming dummy gates such that the barrier layer is disposed between the dummy gates and the quantum well layer; and after forming the strain material regions, forming the plurality of gates by replacing the dummy gates.
  • Example 23 may include the subject matter of any of Examples 15-22, and may further include doping a surface of the quantum well stack to form doped regions that extend to the quantum well layer.
  • Example 24 is a method of operating a quantum dot device, including: applying electrical signals through a first set of conductive pathways to a first set of gates disposed proximate to a first face of a quantum well stack to cause a first quantum dot to form in a first quantum well layer in the quantum well stack under the first set of gates, wherein the first quantum well layer is strained by strain material regions disposed at least partially in the first quantum well layer; applying electrical signals through a second set of conductive pathways to a second set of gates disposed proximate to a second face of the quantum well stack to cause a second quantum dot to form in a second quantum well layer in the quantum well stack under the second set of gates; and sensing a quantum state of the first quantum dot with the second quantum dot.
  • Example 25 may include the subject matter of Example 24, and may further specify that sensing the quantum state of the first quantum dot with the second quantum dot comprises sensing a spin state of the first quantum dot with the second quantum dot.
  • Example 26 may include the subject matter of any of Examples 24-25, and may further specify that the strain material regions are first strain material regions, and the second quantum well layer is strained by second strain material regions disposed at least partially in the second quantum well layer.
  • Example 27 may include the subject matter of any of Examples 24-26, and may further specify that a first barrier layer is disposed between the first set of gates and the first quantum well layer, and the strain material regions extend through the first barrier layer.
  • Example 28 may include the subject matter of Example 27, and may further specify that the first barrier layer includes silicon germanium.
  • Example 29 is a quantum computing device, including: a quantum processing device, wherein the quantum processing device includes a quantum well stack including an active quantum well layer and a read quantum well layer spaced apart from at least one doped layer, a first set of gates to control formation of quantum dots in the active quantum well layer, a second set of gates to control formation of quantum dots in the read quantum well layer, multiple strain material regions disposed at least partially in the active quantum well layer, and a barrier layer disposed between the active quantum well layer and the first set of gates; a non-quantum processing device, coupled to the quantum processing device, to control voltages applied to the first set of gates and the second set of gates; and a memory device to store data generated by the read quantum well layer during operation of the quantum processing device.
  • Example 30 may include the subject matter of Example 29, and may further include a cooling apparatus to maintain the temperature of the quantum processing device below 5 degrees Kelvin.
  • Example 31 may include the subject matter of any of Examples 29-30, and may further include a communication chip communicatively coupled to the non-quantum processing device.
  • Example 32 may include the subject matter of any of Examples 29-31, and may further specify that the multiple strain material regions are first strain material regions, and the quantum processing device further includes multiple second strain material regions disposed at least partially in the read quantum well layer.
  • Example 33 may include the subject matter of any of Examples 29-32, and may further specify that the barrier layer is a first barrier layer, and the quantum processing device further includes a second barrier layer disposed between the read quantum well layer and the second set of gates.

Abstract

L'invention concerne des dispositifs à points quantiques, ainsi que des dispositifs et des procédés informatiques associés. Par exemple, dans certains modes de réalisation, un dispositif à points quantiques peut comprendre : un empilement de puits quantiques comprenant une couche barrière et une couche de puits quantique; des grilles disposées sur l'empilement de puits quantiques de telle sorte que la couche barrière est disposée entre les grilles et la couche de puits quantique; et des régions de matériau de contrainte qui s'étendent à travers la couche barrière et dans la couche de puits quantique. Dans certains modes de réalisation, un dispositif à points quantiques peut comprendre : un empilement de puits quantiques comprenant une couche de puits quantique; des premières grilles disposées sur l'empilement de puits quantiques dans un réseau, chaque première grille ayant un élément d'espacement disposé sur chaque côté de la première grille; une ou plusieurs secondes grilles disposées entre des premières grilles adjacentes parmi les premières grilles; et des régions de disparité de réseau disposées sous les éléments d'espacement, s'étendant dans la couche de puits quantique.
PCT/US2016/054291 2016-09-29 2016-09-29 Dispositifs à points quantiques à contrainte WO2018063202A1 (fr)

Priority Applications (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
PCT/US2016/054291 WO2018063202A1 (fr) 2016-09-29 2016-09-29 Dispositifs à points quantiques à contrainte

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
PCT/US2016/054291 WO2018063202A1 (fr) 2016-09-29 2016-09-29 Dispositifs à points quantiques à contrainte

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
WO2018063202A1 true WO2018063202A1 (fr) 2018-04-05

Family

ID=61759990

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
PCT/US2016/054291 WO2018063202A1 (fr) 2016-09-29 2016-09-29 Dispositifs à points quantiques à contrainte

Country Status (1)

Country Link
WO (1) WO2018063202A1 (fr)

Cited By (30)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US10847705B2 (en) 2018-02-15 2020-11-24 Intel Corporation Reducing crosstalk from flux bias lines in qubit devices
US10879446B2 (en) 2018-08-14 2020-12-29 Intel Corporation Vertical flux bias lines coupled to vertical squid loops in superconducting qubits
US10910488B2 (en) 2018-06-26 2021-02-02 Intel Corporation Quantum dot devices with fins and partially wrapped gates
US11011693B2 (en) 2019-06-24 2021-05-18 Intel Corporation Integrated quantum circuit assemblies for cooling apparatus
US11038021B2 (en) 2017-06-24 2021-06-15 Intel Corporation Quantum dot devices
US11063040B2 (en) 2016-11-03 2021-07-13 Intel Corporation Quantum dot devices
US11063138B2 (en) 2017-06-24 2021-07-13 Intel Corporation Quantum dot devices
US11114530B2 (en) 2017-12-17 2021-09-07 Intel Corporation Quantum well stacks for quantum dot devices
US11158731B2 (en) 2017-09-28 2021-10-26 Intel Corporation Quantum well stacks for quantum dot devices
US11164966B2 (en) 2016-09-30 2021-11-02 Intel Corporation Single electron transistors (SETs) and set-based qubit-detector arrangements
US11177912B2 (en) 2018-03-06 2021-11-16 Intel Corporation Quantum circuit assemblies with on-chip demultiplexers
US11183564B2 (en) 2018-06-21 2021-11-23 Intel Corporation Quantum dot devices with strain control
US11276756B2 (en) 2016-09-30 2022-03-15 Intel Corporation Quantum dot devices with single electron transistor detectors
US11322591B2 (en) 2017-06-24 2022-05-03 Intel Corporation Quantum dot devices
US11335778B2 (en) 2018-06-26 2022-05-17 Intel Corporation Quantum dot devices with overlapping gates
US11355623B2 (en) 2018-03-19 2022-06-07 Intel Corporation Wafer-scale integration of dopant atoms for donor- or acceptor-based spin qubits
US11387324B1 (en) 2019-12-12 2022-07-12 Intel Corporation Connectivity in quantum dot devices
US11417765B2 (en) 2018-06-25 2022-08-16 Intel Corporation Quantum dot devices with fine-pitched gates
US11417755B2 (en) 2018-01-08 2022-08-16 Intel Corporation Differentially strained quantum dot devices
US11424324B2 (en) 2018-09-27 2022-08-23 Intel Corporation Multi-spacers for quantum dot device gates
US11450765B2 (en) 2018-09-27 2022-09-20 Intel Corporation Quantum dot devices with diodes for electrostatic discharge protection
US11494682B2 (en) 2017-12-29 2022-11-08 Intel Corporation Quantum computing assemblies
US11557630B2 (en) 2017-09-28 2023-01-17 Intel Corporation Quantum dot devices with selectors
US11569428B2 (en) 2016-12-27 2023-01-31 Santa Clara Superconducting qubit device packages
US11616126B2 (en) 2018-09-27 2023-03-28 Intel Corporation Quantum dot devices with passive barrier elements in a quantum well stack between metal gates
US11658212B2 (en) 2019-02-13 2023-05-23 Intel Corporation Quantum dot devices with conductive liners
US11682701B2 (en) 2019-03-27 2023-06-20 Intel Corporation Quantum dot devices
US11699747B2 (en) 2019-03-26 2023-07-11 Intel Corporation Quantum dot devices with multiple layers of gate metal
US11749721B2 (en) 2018-09-28 2023-09-05 Intel Corporation Gate walls for quantum dot devices
US11957066B2 (en) 2019-09-04 2024-04-09 Intel Corporation Stackable in-line filter modules for quantum computing

Citations (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US20020179897A1 (en) * 2001-03-09 2002-12-05 Eriksson Mark A. Solid-state quantum dot devices and quantum computing using nanostructured logic gates
US20030111659A1 (en) * 2001-12-17 2003-06-19 Alexander Tzalenchuk Finger SQUID qubit device
US20100006821A1 (en) * 2006-10-09 2010-01-14 Chungbuk National University Industry-Academic Cooperation Foundation Nanoscale multi-junction quantum dot device and fabrication method thereof
US7830695B1 (en) * 2006-10-30 2010-11-09 Hrl Laboratories Capacitive arrangement for qubit operations
US20130087766A1 (en) * 2011-10-07 2013-04-11 The Regents Of The University Of California Scalable quantum computer architecture with coupled donor-quantum dot qubits

Patent Citations (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US20020179897A1 (en) * 2001-03-09 2002-12-05 Eriksson Mark A. Solid-state quantum dot devices and quantum computing using nanostructured logic gates
US20030111659A1 (en) * 2001-12-17 2003-06-19 Alexander Tzalenchuk Finger SQUID qubit device
US20100006821A1 (en) * 2006-10-09 2010-01-14 Chungbuk National University Industry-Academic Cooperation Foundation Nanoscale multi-junction quantum dot device and fabrication method thereof
US7830695B1 (en) * 2006-10-30 2010-11-09 Hrl Laboratories Capacitive arrangement for qubit operations
US20130087766A1 (en) * 2011-10-07 2013-04-11 The Regents Of The University Of California Scalable quantum computer architecture with coupled donor-quantum dot qubits

Cited By (33)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US11276756B2 (en) 2016-09-30 2022-03-15 Intel Corporation Quantum dot devices with single electron transistor detectors
US11164966B2 (en) 2016-09-30 2021-11-02 Intel Corporation Single electron transistors (SETs) and set-based qubit-detector arrangements
US11063040B2 (en) 2016-11-03 2021-07-13 Intel Corporation Quantum dot devices
US11569428B2 (en) 2016-12-27 2023-01-31 Santa Clara Superconducting qubit device packages
US11038021B2 (en) 2017-06-24 2021-06-15 Intel Corporation Quantum dot devices
US11063138B2 (en) 2017-06-24 2021-07-13 Intel Corporation Quantum dot devices
US11721748B2 (en) 2017-06-24 2023-08-08 Intel Corporation Quantum dot devices
US11322591B2 (en) 2017-06-24 2022-05-03 Intel Corporation Quantum dot devices
US11721723B2 (en) 2017-06-24 2023-08-08 Intel Corporation Quantum dot devices
US11158731B2 (en) 2017-09-28 2021-10-26 Intel Corporation Quantum well stacks for quantum dot devices
US11557630B2 (en) 2017-09-28 2023-01-17 Intel Corporation Quantum dot devices with selectors
US11721724B2 (en) 2017-12-17 2023-08-08 Intel Corporation Quantum well stacks for quantum dot devices
US11114530B2 (en) 2017-12-17 2021-09-07 Intel Corporation Quantum well stacks for quantum dot devices
US11494682B2 (en) 2017-12-29 2022-11-08 Intel Corporation Quantum computing assemblies
US11417755B2 (en) 2018-01-08 2022-08-16 Intel Corporation Differentially strained quantum dot devices
US10847705B2 (en) 2018-02-15 2020-11-24 Intel Corporation Reducing crosstalk from flux bias lines in qubit devices
US11177912B2 (en) 2018-03-06 2021-11-16 Intel Corporation Quantum circuit assemblies with on-chip demultiplexers
US11355623B2 (en) 2018-03-19 2022-06-07 Intel Corporation Wafer-scale integration of dopant atoms for donor- or acceptor-based spin qubits
US11183564B2 (en) 2018-06-21 2021-11-23 Intel Corporation Quantum dot devices with strain control
US11417765B2 (en) 2018-06-25 2022-08-16 Intel Corporation Quantum dot devices with fine-pitched gates
US11335778B2 (en) 2018-06-26 2022-05-17 Intel Corporation Quantum dot devices with overlapping gates
US10910488B2 (en) 2018-06-26 2021-02-02 Intel Corporation Quantum dot devices with fins and partially wrapped gates
US10879446B2 (en) 2018-08-14 2020-12-29 Intel Corporation Vertical flux bias lines coupled to vertical squid loops in superconducting qubits
US11616126B2 (en) 2018-09-27 2023-03-28 Intel Corporation Quantum dot devices with passive barrier elements in a quantum well stack between metal gates
US11450765B2 (en) 2018-09-27 2022-09-20 Intel Corporation Quantum dot devices with diodes for electrostatic discharge protection
US11424324B2 (en) 2018-09-27 2022-08-23 Intel Corporation Multi-spacers for quantum dot device gates
US11749721B2 (en) 2018-09-28 2023-09-05 Intel Corporation Gate walls for quantum dot devices
US11658212B2 (en) 2019-02-13 2023-05-23 Intel Corporation Quantum dot devices with conductive liners
US11699747B2 (en) 2019-03-26 2023-07-11 Intel Corporation Quantum dot devices with multiple layers of gate metal
US11682701B2 (en) 2019-03-27 2023-06-20 Intel Corporation Quantum dot devices
US11011693B2 (en) 2019-06-24 2021-05-18 Intel Corporation Integrated quantum circuit assemblies for cooling apparatus
US11957066B2 (en) 2019-09-04 2024-04-09 Intel Corporation Stackable in-line filter modules for quantum computing
US11387324B1 (en) 2019-12-12 2022-07-12 Intel Corporation Connectivity in quantum dot devices

Similar Documents

Publication Publication Date Title
US20210343845A1 (en) Quantum dot array devices with shared gates
US11721724B2 (en) Quantum well stacks for quantum dot devices
US11664421B2 (en) Quantum dot devices
US11677017B2 (en) Quantum well stacks for quantum dot devices
US10804399B2 (en) Double-sided quantum dot devices
US10490727B2 (en) Gate arrangements in quantum dot devices
US11417765B2 (en) Quantum dot devices with fine-pitched gates
WO2018063202A1 (fr) Dispositifs à points quantiques à contrainte
US10475912B2 (en) Gate arrangements in quantum dot devices
US10615160B2 (en) Quantum dot array devices
WO2018063203A1 (fr) Dispositifs à points quantiques contraints
US10763347B2 (en) Quantum well stacks for quantum dot devices
US11183564B2 (en) Quantum dot devices with strain control
US11417755B2 (en) Differentially strained quantum dot devices
US11444188B2 (en) Quantum dot devices
US11424324B2 (en) Multi-spacers for quantum dot device gates
WO2018057027A1 (fr) Dispositifs à points quantiques avec grilles contraintes
WO2018044267A1 (fr) Dispositifs à points quantiques
US11749721B2 (en) Gate walls for quantum dot devices
WO2019135771A1 (fr) Dispositifs à points quantiques comportant des diélectriques au bore

Legal Events

Date Code Title Description
121 Ep: the epo has been informed by wipo that ep was designated in this application

Ref document number: 16917911

Country of ref document: EP

Kind code of ref document: A1

NENP Non-entry into the national phase

Ref country code: DE

122 Ep: pct application non-entry in european phase

Ref document number: 16917911

Country of ref document: EP

Kind code of ref document: A1