Machine-Learning-Assisted and Real-Time-Feedback-Controlled Growth of InAs/GaAs Quantum Dots

Self-assembled InAs/GaAs quantum dots (QDs) have properties highly valuable for developing various optoelectronic devices such as QD lasers and single photon sources. The applications strongly rely on the density and quality of these dots, which has motivated studies of the growth process control to realize high-quality epi-wafers and devices. Establishing the process parameters in molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) for a specific density of QDs is a multidimensional optimization challenge, usually addressed through time-consuming and iterative trial-and-error. Meanwhile, reflective high-energy electron diffraction (RHEED) has been widely used to capture a wealth of growth information in situ. However, it still faces the challenges of extracting information from noisy and overlapping images. Here, based on 3D ResNet, we developed a machine learning (ML) model specially designed for training RHEED videos instead of static images and providing real-time feedback on surface morphologies for process control. We demonstrated that ML from previous growth could predict the post-growth density of QDs, by successfully tuning the QD densities in near-real time from 1.5E10 cm-2 down to 3.8E8 cm-2 or up to 1.4 E11 cm-2. Compared to traditional methods, our approach, with in-situ tuning capabilities and excellent reliability, can dramatically expedite the material optimization process and improve the reproducibility of MBE growth, constituting significant progress for thin film growth techniques. The concepts and methodologies proved feasible in this work are promising to be applied to a variety of material growth processes, which will revolutionize semiconductor manufacturing for microelectronic and optoelectronic industries.