services: Micro/Nano Fabrication
With over 15,000 square feet of clean room space, our facilities can be used for prototyping and short-run fabrication of a ranges of devices. We offer full lithographic, deposition, etch, test and packaging capabilities on a number of different process flows including MEMS, microfluidics and novel materials.
RELEVANT TECHNIQUES:
PHOTOLITHOGRAPHY
Photolithography is a standard microfabrication process used to either add new material in desired areas or remove material from undesired areas. Through the state-of-the-art instruments available in our facility, users have the capability and flexibility to design desired patterns in a rapid fashion.
Our current range of photolithography setups can be found in our NUFAB Facility and the Pritzker Nanofabrication Facility.
ETCHING
Etching is a process by which undesired material is removed from the target sample. At our facilities, we offer a number of methods to help users achieve this important fabrication process.
ELECTRON BEAM LITHOGRAPHY
Electron beam lithography is a high-resolution lithography technique that involves rastering an electron beam across the sample to selectively define areas for the deposition of new material or removal of existing material. This maskless nanolithography tool can be used to design electrical circuits, as well as, create nanostructures for various electronic or optical applications.
Our current range of electron beam lithography setups can be found in our EPIC Facility and the Pritzker Nanofabrication Facility.
PHYSICAL VAPOR DEPOSITION (PVD)
Physical vapor deposition (PVD) is a class of deposition techniques that involves first vaporizing the material of interest, followed by condensation of the material on the target sample. Our facilities offer a number of PVD tools that are useful for depositing material for a variety of applications, such as semiconductors, automobiles, and jewelry.
Our current range of PVD setups can be found in our NUFAB Facility and the Pritzker Nanofabrication Facility.
CHEMICAL VAPOR DEPOSITION (CVD)
Chemical vapor deposition (CVD) is a vacuum deposition process that involves depositing high quality material on a target sample through the use of a chemical reaction. Our facilities offer the ability to deposit a variety of films through this process including silicon and various dielectric materials for semiconductor applications.
Our current range of CVD setups can be found in our NUFAB Facility and the Pritzker Nanofabrication Facility.
ATOMIC LAYER DEPOSITION (ALD)
Atomic layer deposition (ALD) is a specialized, highly controllable deposition process that we offer in our facilities. This technique allows for sequential, layer-by-layer deposition of a variety of materials. The highly controllable nature of this process allows for precise tuning of the deposited material’s thickness, which makes it quite appealing for fabricating semiconductor devices.
Our current range of CVD setups can be found in our NUFAB Facility and the Pritzker Nanofabrication Facility.
CRITICAL POINT DRYING
To preserve fragile structures after wet etching processes, CPD can be used to dry the sample without the potential damage caused by surface tension of the liquid. This is particularly useful when releasing MEMS devices with suspended structures.
Our current range of CPD tools can be found in our NUFAB Facility and the Pritzker Nanofabrication Facility.
THERMAL PROCESSING
Thermal processing can be used to relieve stresses produced by other processing steps. Our facilities offer both rapid thermal processing and standard furnaces.
Our current range of thermal processing tools can be found in our NUFAB Facility
WAFER DICING
To separate wafers into individual die, our facilities offer standard dicing saws in addition to advanced laser dicing capabilities.
Our current range of wafer dicing tools can be found in our NUFAB Facility and the Pritzker Nanofabrication Facility.
PACKAGING
Our facilities offer packaging capabilities for your finished devices, specifically vacuum packaging.
Our current range of packaging tools can be found in the Pritzker Nanofabrication Facility.
WIRE BONDING
To make electrical connection to your devices, our facilities offer different types of wire bonding including wedge bonding and ball bonding.
Our current range of wire bonding tools can be found in our NUFAB Facility and the Pritzker Nanofabrication Facility.