News | Jul 07, 2026
Quantum computing is moving rapidly from high-tech promise to strategic priority. Driven by the potential to solve complex problems beyond the reach of classical computers, governments (as well as private industry) are investing heavily in the development of quantum technologies.
Clearly, quantum computing is here to stay. With that said, one challenge remains constant: the need to create higher-quality quantum materials with fewer defects and more precisely engineered interfaces.
Whether developing superconducting qubits, spin qubits or other emerging quantum device structures, performance ultimately depends on the quality of the underlying materials. Even subtle variations during epitaxial growth can affect device reproducibility, scalability and qubit coherence times (i.e., the duration for which a qubit can maintain its delicate quantum state before environmental noise causes it to lose information). Thus, as researchers work to move quantum systems from the laboratory into practical computing platforms, process intelligence has become as important as process capability.
Integrated metrology is emerging as a critical enabler of this effort. By bringing measurement, analysis and process control together into a unified workflow, researchers gain deeper insight into material growth and a path toward more consistent outcomes. This vision is at the heart of the ongoing collaboration between Veeco and k-Space Associates, which combines advanced molecular-beam epitaxy (MBE) systems with real-time metrology and analytical capabilities to help researchers better understand and optimize quantum materials.
“Quantum computing places extraordinary demands on materials quality, where even minor atomic-scale variations can significantly impact device performance,” said Matt Marek, Vice President of MBE Products at Veeco. “By integrating advanced metrology directly into the growth environment, researchers can better understand the relationship between process parameters, material properties, and ultimately qubit integrity.”
Veeco and k-Space have worked together for decades to support advanced materials research. Today, that collaboration continues to evolve through a shared focus on integrated metrology and intelligent process control.
Every Veeco MBE system incorporates reflection high-energy electron diffraction (RHEED), and often this is paired with RHEED analysis technology from k-Space. RHEED, and the corresponding analysis, serves as a real-time window into crystal growth, providing insight into surface structure, morphology and growth dynamics as materials are deposited atom by atom. The k-Space KSA 400 platform is the leading solution for acquiring and analyzing RHEED data. Through integration with Veeco’s Molly software environment, RHEED data can be analyzed as needed throughout a growth and entered as parameters in recipes, creating the foundation for closed-loop process control.
This approach enables researchers to automate critical growth transitions, dynamically adjust process parameters and standardize complex structures so they can be reproduced. For quantum materials, where interfaces often determine device performance, such feedback can be invaluable.
The implications for qubit development are significant. Superconducting qubits, spin qubits and other quantum architectures all rely on highly controlled thin-film growth and exceptionally clean interfaces. Reducing defectivity and improving material uniformity can directly contribute to longer coherence times and improved device performance.
Beyond RHEED analysis, complementary technologies such as k-Space’s kSA BandIT thin-film temperature-monitoring system provide additional process visibility. Temperature uniformity across the substrate can have a substantial impact on film quality, and integrated monitoring helps researchers better understand and control another critical process variable. The system overcomes the limitations of traditional temperature-monitoring approaches, such as thermocouples or pyrometers, by measuring temperature through the temperature-dependent shift of a material’s optical band edge. Because it is independent of absolute light intensity, this method is naturally resistant to emissivity changes, viewport coating and stray light. A recent app note describes these benefits in greater detail:
“Historically, characterization has occurred after a growth run was complete. Today, the focus is shifting toward integrated metrology, where process data becomes integral to the workflow,” noted Chuck Taylor, Vice President of Technology, k-Space Associates. “RHEED analysis, combined with temperature monitoring, advanced analytics and closed-loop feedback, can allow identification of subtle process changes as they occur to enable better decision-making.”
As quantum materials research becomes increasingly sophisticated, the volume and complexity of process data continue to grow. Researchers are seeking faster, more detailed insights that allow them to identify subtle process variations before they affect device performance.
To address these needs, k-Space is enhancing the capabilities of its RHEED platforms through higher-speed imaging and improved data acquisition. New camera technologies capable of capturing hundreds of frames per second provide dramatically greater visibility into dynamic growth processes than previous generations of systems.
At the same time, advanced analytical tools are helping researchers extract more value from the data they collect. One example is principal component analysis (PCA), which can identify the most significant features within complex image datasets while reducing noise and irrelevant variables. Instead of manually analyzing large numbers of RHEED images, researchers can focus on the characteristics that matter most, accelerating interpretation and decision-making.
Simulation is becoming equally important. k-Space’s RHEEDSim platform allows users to generate and analyze simulated RHEED patterns in a virtual environment. These simulations enable better understanding of growth behavior while also creating valuable datasets for training machine-learning models.
The convergence of process tools, metrology, simulation and analytics points toward an even more transformative future. Recent research has demonstrated how machine-learning algorithms can analyze RHEED data in real time, identifying changes in growth conditions and detecting transitions before they become obvious to human operators. Researchers have also shown that AI models can classify growth modes and predict material outcomes with high accuracy, creating a foundation for autonomous process optimization.
By combining Veeco’s growth expertise with k-Space’s metrology and analytical capabilities, future systems could leverage AI-driven feedback loops that continuously monitor growth conditions, identify deviations and automatically optimize process parameters. Such capabilities could dramatically reduce development cycles for new quantum materials while improving reproducibility across research programs.
The result is a unified workflow that connects growth, measurement, simulation, analytics and process optimization into a single ecosystem that manufacturing partners can readily leverage.
According to Ian Farrer, senior quantum materials engineer, Quantum Foundry, “Developing quantum materials requires understanding how growth conditions, interfaces and material properties interact throughout the process of growing films. Integrated metrology and simulation tools provide valuable insight into those relationships, and advanced analytics help us extract meaningful information from increasingly complex datasets. Together, these capabilities are helping create new opportunities to optimize materials for next-generation quantum devices.”
Advancing quantum materials requires close collaboration among equipment manufacturers, metrology specialists, software developers and leading research institutions. These partnerships create opportunities to validate emerging techniques, refine analytical approaches and develop new process-control methodologies that benefit the broader quantum ecosystem.
The relationship between Veeco and k-Space illustrates how complementary expertise can accelerate innovation, while collaborations with universities and research institutions help ensure that new technologies address real-world research challenges.
As quantum devices become more complex and performance requirements continue to rise, integrated metrology will play an increasingly important role in improving both qubit quality and manufacturability. The ability to understand, measure and optimize material growth in real time could ultimately become a key differentiator in scaling quantum technologies from research demonstrations to commercial systems.
The vision extends beyond improved measurement. The long-term goal is smarter, more autonomous materials growth—systems capable of learning from process data, adapting to changing conditions and helping researchers discover optimal growth recipes faster than ever before.
The future of quantum computing depends on advances in materials science as much as advances in device design. Higher-performing qubits require better materials, cleaner interfaces and tighter process control.
Integrated metrology provides a bridge between growth, measurement, analysis and optimization, helping researchers transform data into actionable insight. Through their ongoing collaboration, Veeco and k-Space are working to bring these capabilities closer together, creating new opportunities for quantum materials research and future process automation.
These efforts, together with those of research partners such as NTT Basic Research Laboratories and Cornell University, are helping lay the foundation for the next generation of quantum technologies—where intelligent process control, advanced analytics and real-time metrology work together to accelerate discovery and improve performance.
To learn more about the latest developments in integrated metrology and advanced materials growth, visit Veeco (Booth 18) and k-Space (Booth 17) at ICMBE, July 12–16 in Ann Arbor, Mich. Both companies are Platinum Sponsors of the event and will be hosting user meetings during the conference.
Veeco is the industry leader driving HDD manufacturing to new levels of productivity.