The NIST NanoFab: Tour Summary

Location:  Bldg. 215, Rm. D101 

The NanoFab provides researchers from industry, academia, NIST, and other government agencies rapid access to a comprehensive suite of tools and processes for nanofabrication and measurement. This world-class facility is a unique national resource, combining easy access, tool and process development, and training, while providing researchers from across the nation access to NIST-wide expertise in nanoscience and nanotechnology. The facility is accessible through a simple application process designed to get users into the facility in a few weeks.  The NanoFab is a 60,000 square foot (5600 m²) facility that includes a 19,000 square foot (1800 m²), class 1000 cleanroom, with 8,000 square feet (750 m²) at class 100, along with additional high-performance laboratories nearby within the Advanced Measurement Laboratory complex.  There are over 65 fabrication and processing tools in the cleanroom, including tools for electron beam-, photo- and nanoimprint-lithography, laser writing and mask generation, field emission scanning electron microscopy, metal deposition, plasma etching, chemical vapor deposition, atomic layer deposition, and silicon micro/nano-machining.  Tools outside the cleanroom include a second electron beam lithography system, a second atomic force microscope, and a dual beam focused ion beam system. A transmission electron microscope will be coming to the NanoFab in 2010. With an unusual level of operational flexibility, it can accommodate the needs of a wide range of researchers, from novices to the world's experts in nanofabrication.