--- title: New Tantalum Process Could Ease Manufacturing of... description: Cornell researchers led by Valla Fatemi developed a krypton-based sputtering method that deposits superconducting tantalum thin films on silicon at 200°C,... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/new-tantalum-process-could-ease-manufacturing-of-superconducting-quantum-chips-q4sfn6mba twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: New Tantalum Process Could Ease Manufacturing of Superconducting Quantum Chips | daily.dev og:description: Cornell researchers led by Valla Fatemi developed a krypton-based sputtering method that deposits superconducting tantalum thin films on silicon at 200°C,... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/new-tantalum-process-could-ease-manufacturing-of-superconducting-quantum-chips-q4sfn6mba og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/q4sFN6mBA.png og:image:alt: New Tantalum Process Could Ease Manufacturing of Superconducting Quantum Chips og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # New Tantalum Process Could Ease Manufacturing of Superconducting Quantum Chips **[The Quantum Insider](https://daily.dev/sources/thequantuminsider)** · 6 min read · 0 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary Cornell researchers led by Valla Fatemi developed a krypton-based sputtering method that deposits superconducting tantalum thin films on silicon at 200°C, roughly half the temperature typically required (over 400°C). Using krypton instead of argon as the ionized gas transfers more momentum during sputtering, stabilizing the desired crystal phase at lower temperatures while producing films with higher electronic conductivity and high-quality qubits. This wider manufacturing window could make tantalum more compatible with existing semiconductor foundry tooling, addressing a key materials and nanofabrication bottleneck in scaling superconducting quantum computing. The findings, led by postdoctoral researcher Maciej Olszewski, were published in Nature Materials. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Questions this post answers ### How does using krypton instead of argon for sputtering tantalum lower the deposition temperature needed for quantum chips? Krypton ions transfer more momentum than argon during sputtering, ejecting tantalum atoms with greater energy and stabilizing the desired crystal phase on a silicon substrate at much lower temperatures. Cornell researchers used this method to cut the deposition temperature from over 400 degrees Celsius to 200 degrees Celsius while producing tantalum thin films with higher electronic conductivity and high-quality qubits. _Developers tracking hardware advances behind quantum computing follow research breakthroughs like this on daily.dev._ ### Why is tantalum difficult to use in superconducting quantum chip manufacturing? Tantalum normally requires deposition temperatures exceeding 400 degrees Celsius, which is too hot for many semiconductor foundry tools built to operate below that threshold. At lower temperatures tantalum forms an undesirable crystal phase, while excessive heat causes it to mix with the silicon substrate, forming a thick layer that causes information loss and reduces chip performance. _daily.dev helps engineers keep up with materials challenges shaping next-generation chip fabrication._ ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [New iron telluride thin film achieves superconductivity for quantum computer chips](https://daily.dev/posts/new-iron-telluride-thin-film-achieves-superconductivity-for-quantum-computer-chips-jsjgcstby) · Phys.org · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Researchers Improve Superconducting Qubit Coherence Using Tantalum and Silicon](https://daily.dev/posts/researchers-improve-superconducting-qubit-coherence-using-tantalum-and-silicon-zwmxwvdln) · The Quantum Insider · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Researchers make air-stable, ultrathin superconductors, for more scalable quantum devices](https://daily.dev/posts/researchers-make-air-stable-ultrathin-superconductors-for-more-scalable-quantum-devices-ntid5a3xj) · MIT News · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Wafer-Scale Superconducting Transistors Cut Cryo Cables](https://daily.dev/posts/wafer-scale-superconducting-transistors-cut-cryo-cables-s2dofrndm) · IEEE Spectrum · 0 upvotes · 0 comments --- Tags: [#hardware](https://daily.dev/tags/hardware), [#science](https://daily.dev/tags/science), [#quantum-computing](https://daily.dev/tags/quantum-computing) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/new-tantalum-process-could-ease-manufacturing-of-superconducting-quantum-chips-q4sfn6mba) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"New Tantalum Process Could Ease Manufacturing of Superconducting Quantum Chips","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/new-tantalum-process-could-ease-manufacturing-of-superconducting-quantum-chips-q4sfn6mba","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/new-tantalum-process-could-ease-manufacturing-of-superconducting-quantum-chips-q4sfn6mba"},"datePublished":"2026-08-19T09:14:19.645Z","dateModified":"2026-08-19T09:14:43.364Z","description":"Cornell researchers led by Valla Fatemi developed a krypton-based sputtering method that deposits superconducting tantalum thin films on silicon at 200°C,...","image":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/1156e2dfe8db6a9985f8ccadd33e7df3?_a=AQAEuop","thumbnailUrl":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/1156e2dfe8db6a9985f8ccadd33e7df3?_a=AQAEuop","isAccessibleForFree":true,"articleSection":"The Quantum Insider","inLanguage":"en","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180}},"author":{"@type":"Organization","name":"The Quantum Insider","logo":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/t_logo,f_auto/v1/logos/7b14a6b34c1b464c9e8a88d9a0dac951","url":"https://daily.dev/sources/thequantuminsider"},"commentCount":0,"discussionUrl":"https://daily.dev/posts/new-tantalum-process-could-ease-manufacturing-of-superconducting-quantum-chips-q4sfn6mba","interactionStatistic":[{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":0},{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"CommentAction"},"userInteractionCount":0}],"keywords":"hardware,science,quantum-computing","timeRequired":"PT6M"} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://daily.dev"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The Quantum Insider","item":"https://daily.dev/sources/thequantuminsider"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"New Tantalum Process Could Ease Manufacturing of Superconducting Quantum Chips"}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"FAQPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/new-tantalum-process-could-ease-manufacturing-of-superconducting-quantum-chips-q4sfn6mba#faq","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"How does using krypton instead of argon for sputtering tantalum lower the deposition temperature needed for quantum chips?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Krypton ions transfer more momentum than argon during sputtering, ejecting tantalum atoms with greater energy and stabilizing the desired crystal phase on a silicon substrate at much lower temperatures. Cornell researchers used this method to cut the deposition temperature from over 400 degrees Celsius to 200 degrees Celsius while producing tantalum thin films with higher electronic conductivity and high-quality qubits. Developers tracking hardware advances behind quantum computing follow research breakthroughs like this on daily.dev."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"Why is tantalum difficult to use in superconducting quantum chip manufacturing?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Tantalum normally requires deposition temperatures exceeding 400 degrees Celsius, which is too hot for many semiconductor foundry tools built to operate below that threshold. At lower temperatures tantalum forms an undesirable crystal phase, while excessive heat causes it to mix with the silicon substrate, forming a thick layer that causes information loss and reduces chip performance. daily.dev helps engineers keep up with materials challenges shaping next-generation chip fabrication."}}]} ```