Nanofabrication Facility

Jeff Bokor, Scientific Director
Stefano Cabrini,
Acting Faciility Director

Overview

We use the term “nanofabrication” to refer to very highly developed techniques of nanolithography and pattern transfer, sometimes referred to as “top-down” patterning. The distinguishing characteristic of top-down patterning is that a nanoscale pattern is initially created using a design process on a computer, and then the stored pattern is used to create a photomask, or a set of instructions for steering a focused radiation beam as it scans over a material creating a pattern of radiation-modified material. A relatively recent version of top-down patterning is nanoimprint lithography, in which a relief template is created from the stored pattern, and then the template is used as a mechanical mold to replicate the pattern in a deformable material.
This facility provides instruments and techniques dedicated to state-of-the-art lithographic and thin-film processing. Processes and techniques relevant to the integration of advanced semiconductor nanofabrication technologies with chemical and biological nanosystems are emphasized.  The facility also features high-resolution nanolithography and etching capabilities as well as thin-film deposition of a variety of materials, and thermal and wet processing.