Speaker

Ankit Pokhrel

R&D Engineer Superconducting Digital Technology - imec

Biography

Ankit Pokhrel is currently a R&D Engineer (Superconducting Digital Technology) at imec (Leuven, Belgium) leading the fabrication efforts of imec’s NbTiN superconducting platform. She holds a B.S degree from Wesleyan College (US) and a PhD degree in Physical Chemistry from the University of Wisconsin-Madison (US). After graduation, she joined Applied Materials (Santa Clara, US) where she held several roles from leading the development of low-k dielectrics for BEOL applications to process integration. She joined imec in 2021 to continue working on integration, initially working on advanced Ru interconnects and transitioning into developing imec’s superconducting platform.

Talk(s)

3:10 PM

A versatile NbTiN superconducting digital platform

Superconducting materials hold transformative potential across multiple advanced technological fields including high-performance computing (HPC), artificial intelligence (AI),quantum controlling, and ultra-sensitive sensing. Their unique electromagnetics enable ultra-fast, energy-efficient logic circuits and interconnects, offering a path towards overcoming the thermal and power limitations of traditional semiconductor-based architectures. Imec has developed a scalable 300mm wafer platform for superconducting devices, compatible with CMOS thermal budgets, standard nanofabrication, and vertical integration—advancing density, manufacturability, and system integration beyond the current state of the art. This platform, based on niobium titanium nitride (NbTiN), provides high-yield fabrication of diverse key elements—including wires, vias, Josephson junctions, flux trapping structures and tunable capacitors—paving the way for practical, large-scale deployment of superconducting technologies in next-generation HPC, AI and quantum systems.