The MRL Micro/Nanofabrication Facility is a multidisciplinary, user-supported facility providing equipment and resources for thin film deposition and the fabrication of patterned micro-and nano-sized structures on flexible and other multi-layer electronic devices.The facility operates a 1,400 square foot, class-100 cleanroom with instrumentation for wet/chemical etching, spin coating, mask aligners, and general optical and 3D printing lithography. The facilities also include an on-site mask fabrication service and an additional 500 square foot class-100 cleanroom with an electron-beam lithography system capable of 20-nm line resolution for pattern delineation and device fabrication.

Cleanroom

The MicroFab cleanroom is used for a wide range of micro and nano-fabrication projects. In addition to UIUC researchers, the cleanroom allows outside academic users as well as users from industry.  Learn more about the MRL Cleanroom >>

Techniques

Deposition Tools

The facilities include a variety of tools for thin-film and multi-layered structure fabrication using electron-beam and thermal evaporators, sputtering and atomic layer deposition methods. We provide the deposition sources and targets but in many cases users can work with staff to add their sources for their own, specific materials.

Diffusion / Annealing Furnaces

Several furnaces covering a variety of temperature ranges under vacuum or various ambient conditions are available to carry out diffusion processes, dopant activation, ion-implantation damage repair, fabrication of graphene or carbon nanotubes, etc.

Dry Etching

Dry etching is a key step in device fabrication where layers or selected areas of material are removed by employing a plasma of reactive gases. The MRL offers several dry etching tools applicable to a variety of layers and substrate types and sizes.

Lithography

Lithography uses light or electron beam to produce specific patterns on substrates during device fabrication. Photo- and electron-beam lithography facilities are available in the MRL through a series of mask aligners, stampers, ovens, two-photon sub-micron lithography 3D printing and an electron-beam lithography system.

Wet Processing

Wet processing work in the MRL Cleanroom is supported by several fume hoods and flow benches for processes involving acids, solvent developer, and metal etchants.