Future electronic and quantum devices will require near-atomically-precise nanofabrication processes, but present plasma processing methods create a variety of imperfections that limit device performance. In this talk, I will present atomic layer etching processing for materials including superconducting niobium nitride, and lithium niobate which enable etching with Angstrom-scale precision. I will describe our efforts to translate the process improvements to devices with outstanding performance.

Austin Minnich is Deputy Division Chair of the Division of Engineering and Applied Science and a Professor in Engineering and Applied Science at the California Institute of Technology. He received his Bachelor’s degree from UC Berkeley in 2006 and his PhD from MIT in 2011, after which he started his position at Caltech. He has received a number of awards, including a 2013 NSF CAREER Award, a 2015 ONR Young Investigator Award, a 2019 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE), and a 2025 NSF Trailblazer Engineering Impact Award. His research interests include atomic layer processing and electronic and photonic devices.