New technologies are needed for the U.S. to maintain leadership in the development and manufacture of next generation computer chips. A critical step in the manufacture of computer chips is the deposition of electronic materials, layer by layer, onto a surface, in precise patterns to create a circuit. A particularly precise method is called atomic layer processing, which can deposit a single layer of atoms onto a surface (atomic layer deposition), or remove a single layer of atoms from a surface (atomic layer etching). However, these processes require very high temperatures and do not work for all electronic materials. A bold new idea is to use electrons to enable the deposition or etching processes to work at lower temperatures. In the research funded by this award, atomic layer processing systems will be equipped with special emitters that direct an electron beam to the surface and drive reactions that would not otherwise be possible. Special instruments designed to work inside the atomic layer processing equipment will measure the progress of the reactions in real time, providing fundamental information that can be used to control and improve the process. Once this concept has been demonstrated, the project seeks to make superconducting thin films that can be used as “qubit” chips in quantum computers. The project will also pioneer new ways to train students in use of clean room technology that is central to the semiconductor industry. The training modules will use augme