Techniques and Facilities

Nanofabrication Nottingham is home to a wide array of equipment, and we have a skilled team capable of assisting with a number of different techniques and fabrication process.  Details about are equipment can be seen below, for further details on a number of fabrication process please click here for an interactive guide.

Electron Beam Lithography

Example uses: Electrical circuits, 2D material processing, calibration samples, surface topograhpy fabrication

The centrepiece of the nmRC facility is the Nanobeam nB5 electron beam lithography tool. With a 80kV beam and write currents between 1 and 50nA it is capable of writing features as small as 30nm. We can work with a range of substrates from glass to silicon to GaAs in sizes from 5mm chips to 4" wafers. We have used EBL for a range of groups and are experts in working with insulating substrates and patterning 2D materials such as graphene or InSe.

Photolithography

Example uses: Electrical circuits, microfluidics

In addition to EBL we also have a range of tools for photolithography. Photolithography is great for situations where you don't need to resolution of EBL and can draw features down to 1µm. Its other benefit is it can work with much thinner resists including 50µm thick SU-8. We have 2 mask aligners and one maskless system. The maskless lithography system allows for rapid prototyping of devices such as microfluidics. 

Deposition

Example uses: Optical coatings, electrical devices

We have a wide range of deposition tools including thermal and e-beam evaporators, PECVD tools and sputter coaters. This allows us to deposit the majority of commonly used materials including Au, Cr, Ag, Ti, Ge, aSi, SiO2, SiNx, permalloy and other magnetic materials. We can also do copper plating where thicker layers are needed.

Etching

Example uses: Surface topography fabrication, waveguides, optics

We have the ability to carry out both wet and dry etching. Our dry etching system can do RIE or ICP with both fluorinated and chlorinated chemistries. We have a number of recipes ready to go and new protocols can be created allowing us to work with your requirements. We also have a wet bench for all common wet etches, we have staffed trained in the safe use of hydrofluoric acid etching. 

 

Heat treatments and packaging

Example uses: surface oxidation, annealing, electrical bonding

We have a range of other equipment including a tube furnace that can process wafers up to 4" in diameter and annealer both with a range of gases available. We also have packaging equipment such as wedge and ball bonders and scribers. 

Ellipsometry and Sample analysis

Example uses: optical coatings, polymer thin films, 2D materials, photovoltaics

We have a range of equipment for sample analysis at any stage of the fabrication process. We have 2 ellipsometers allowing for VASE or imaging ellipsometry, both of which can perform Mueller matrix measurements. The imaging ellipsometer can also carry out measurements in liquid. We also have stylus profilers, AFMs and a wide range of imaging tools with both optical and electron microscopes.