Micro/Nano Fabrication and Cleanroom
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 >>
Mask Fabrication Services
Most of our customers have or are in the process of moving to maskless processes for device fabrication with no need for photomasks. We have added a Heidelberg MLA150 maskless writer to our cleanroom/fab core of shared instrumentation and we would like to encourage you to consider using that tool for your lithography needs. The maskless process offers a non-contact, economic and very high speed compared to mask-based processes. For instance, full areas of 200 mm x 200 mm with features down to 1 micron can be exposed in only 36 minutes. Details on that instrument and capability can be found here: https://mrl.illinois.edu/facilities/equipment/heidelberg-mla150-aligner-maskless-photolithography
In order to become a user of our maskless writer – or any other equipment or facilities in our cleanroom in the MRL shared instrumentation – please contact us or visit the web site: https://mrl.illinois.edu/facilities/become-user
The MRL shared facilities are available to users on 24/7 basis, with training of users or staff-assisted work in the facilities available during regular business hours.
Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions.
Techniques
Deposition Tools
Lithography
Wet Processing
Dry Etching
Furnace Equipment
Equipment in this Core
| Equipment Name | Contact | Location | Techniques | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Equipment Name | Contact | Location | Techniques | |
| SAMCO RIE-10NR Reactive Ion Etch System |
|
342 MRL |
|
The SAMCO RIE-10NR is a cutting-edge, fully automated Reactive Ion Etching (RIE) system specifically designed to meet the rigorous process demands of fluorine chemistry for research and production purposes. With precision, it executes etching operations, ensuring minimal sidewall deterioration and exceptional selectivity between various materials. Its capabilities extend to processing wafers up to 8 inches in diameter, showcasing its versatility in handling diverse requirements. |
| ADT 7122 Wafer Dicer |
|
326 MRL |
|
The Advanced Dicing Technology (ADT) 7122 is an automatic wafer dicer with an 8" diameter (or 200 mm x 200 mm square area) dicing area. |
| UV/Ozone Cleaner |
|
388 MRL |
|
Ultraviolet (UV) ozone cleaners have proven highly effective in non-acidic, dry, and non-destructive atomic cleaning processes. Utilizing intense UV light at wavelengths of 185 nm and 254 nm, they efficiently eradicate organic contaminants. The 185 nm wavelength generates ozone in the presence of oxygen, while the 254 nm wavelength activates organic molecules on surfaces. This dual mechanism swiftly destroys and eliminates organic contaminations.
|
| Heidelberg MLA150 aligner for maskless photolithography |
|
388 MRL |
|
The Heidelberg MLA 150 Maskless Aligner is a high-speed direct-write photolithography tool. It does not physically contact the substrate, uses a micro-mirror array to expose the pattern only in the desired locations. |
| Westbond 4KE wire bonder |
|
326 MRL |
|
Wire bonding is a method of connecting metallic wires to electronic devices. The wire bonds are performed using ultrasonic transducers that convert a high frequency electronic signal to mechanical energy in the ultrasonic range (63kHz). |
| SCS Labcoter2 Parylene Coater |
|
348 MRL |
|
The SCS Labcoter2 Parylene deposition system performs reliable and repeatable Parylene conformal coatings to many different types of components such as circuit boards, sensors, wafers, medical devices, MEMS and elastomeric components. Parylene coatings provide a highly effective chemical and moisture barrier with high dielectric and mechanical strength. |
| Graphene Furnace - Max Temp. 1000°C |
|
322 MRL |
|
The Graphene Furnace is solely dedicated to the growth of high-quality graphene and carbon nanotube materials.
|
| Hydrogen Vacuum Furnace – Max Temp. 1000°C |
|
322 MRL |
|
The Hydrogen Vacuum Furnace is dedicated to annealing of materials under hydrogen and vacuum environment. |
| AJA E-beam evaporator 1 |
|
348 MRL |
|
AJA E-beam evaporator 1 has an electron beam gun assembly with six source crucibles. |
| AJA Orion-8 Sputtering System for Magnetic Materials |
|
336 MRL |
|
|
| Raith eLine Electron Beam Lithography System |
|
364 MRL |
|
Raith eLine EBL system is an electron beam lithography system that has a ZEISS SEM column equipped with a Thermal Field Emission electron gun. The accelerating voltage can be operated at 10 - 30kV. It is capable of patterning ultra fine features with resolution down to 10 nm in PMMA ebeam resist. It has a standard 30 μm aperture along with 7.5 up to 120 µm aperture. Standard write field size is 100 μm and ranges between 1µm to 1 mm. Field stitching error is typically less than 40 nm. Standard sample holder can accommodate up to 5” wafer. Eight sample clips can be used for smaller sample with sample size from 1 to 3 cm. GDSII CAD file is standard file format and can be converted from other CAD files such as Autocad DXF file. |
| Harrick Plasma Oxygen Cleaner |
|
342 MRL |
|
The Harrick Plasma PDC-32G Cleaner is low-cost bench-topinductively coupled plasma device. It may be employed in a broad range of surface engineering applications, including nanoscale surface cleaning, surface preparation and surface modification/treatment. |
| Temescal Ebeam Evaporator 2 |
|
348 MRL |
|
Temescal Ebeam evaporator 2 has an electron beam gun assembly with six manually selected source crucibles. Currently approved deposition materials are metals only including Ag, Cu, Cr, Ti, Al, Ni, Fe, Si, Ge. The maximum thickness of a single layer is limited to 200 nm. 13 4-inch wafers or sample holders can be accommodated in the loadlock chamber for line-of-sight deposition. Deposition rate and thickness of material are monitored. Power of ebeam for deposition is controlled manually by user. |
| Temescal Ebeam Evaporator 4 |
|
348 MRL |
|
Temescal Ebeam evaporator 4 has an electron beam gun assembly with six automatically selected source crucibles. Currently approved deposition materials are metals only including Au, Ag, Pt, Pd, Cu, Cr, Ti, Ni, Fe, Al. The maximum thickness of a single layer is limited to 300 nm. Thirteen 4-inch wafers or sample holders can be accommodated in the loadlock chamber for line-of-sight deposition. Deposition rate and thickness of material are monitored and controlled automatically. The system is fully automated with computer interface. Programmable deposition recipes are provided. |
| Raith EBPG5150 100-kV e-Beam Lithography System |
|
364 MRL |
|
The Raith EBPG5150 Electron Beam Lithography System is an ultra-high performance e-beam writer for nanometer-scaled device fabrication. |
| AJA Orion 3 Sputter Coater 2 |
|
326 MRL |
|
AJA sputter coater 2 is an AJA ORION 3 sputter system with three ST20 ORION magnetron sputter guns capable of sputtering conductive and dielectric materials using DC and RF Argon plasma. Co-sputtering (up to three guns, two DC and one RF power supply) is available. The system accommodates 2” targets (1/4” thick) including various materials such as Cr, Ti, Cu, Mo, Al, Ag, Pt, Pd, Mg, Ni, Fe, Co, Si, Ge, W, ITO, SiO2, Si3N4 and MgO. Sample holder size is 4” in diameter. Reactive sputtering with O2 is available. |
| AJA ATC2000 Sputter Coater 1 |
|
336 MRL |
|
AJA sputter coater 1 is an AJA ATC 2000 sputter system with four A320 XP UHV magnetron sputter guns capable of sputtering conductive and dielectric materials using DC and RF Argon plasma. Co-sputtering (up to three guns, two DC and one RF power supply) is available. The system accommodates 2” targets (1/4” thick) including various materials such as Cr, Ti, Cu, Mo, Al, Ag, Mg, Ni, Fe, Co, Si, Ge, W, ITO, SiO2, Si3N4 and MgO. Sample holder size is 4” in diameter. Substrate heating is available at up to 400 C. Reactive sputtering with O2 and N2 is also available. |
| Optical Microscopes with CCD cameras |
|
326 MRL |
|
|
| Jandel 4-Point Probe Sheet Resistance Measurement |
|
326 MRL |
|
- Automatically calculate and display sheet resistance results - Self test against external precision resistor, 100Ω - Output currents up to 99.99mA and down to 10nA - Compliance voltage up to 40V - Accuracy of the instrument within 1% across whole range. |
| 4155c Semiconductor Parameter Analyzer (Agilent), used with Lake Shore and custom probe station |
|
326 MRL |
|
The Agilent 4155C is an electronic instrument for measuring and analyzing the characteristics of semiconductor devices. This instrument allows you to perform both measurement and analysis of measurement results. The 4155C has four highly accurate source monitor units (SMUs), two voltage source units (VSUs), and two voltage measurement units (VMUs). It can perform three types of measurements: sweep measurement, sampling measurement, and quasi-static C-V measurement.
|
| Bench Top Probe Station (Custom) |
|
326 MRL |
|
The Probe Station facilitates electrical measurements at room temperature and in ambient conditions. Electrical contact is made via probe tips (5 µm tungsten standard) which are attached to micropositioners with 80 turns per inch resolution. The electrical signals are taken through the Agilent 4155C Semiconductor Parameter Analyzer which has 4 SMU units with a voltage output range of -100 to 100 V and a current output range of -100 to 100 mA. Users can perform temperature-dependent measurements of I-V and quasi-static C-V curves, and other high and low frequency tests.
|
| Temperature-Controlled Cryogenic Vacuum Probe Station |
|
326 MRL |
|
The LakeShore FWPX Cryogenic Probe Station is a great characterization tool for taking electrical measurements in a temperature range from 77 K up to 475 K, and in a vacuum environment down to 10-5 Torr. The electrical signals are taken through the Agilent 4155C Semiconductor Parameter Analyzer which has 4 SMU units with a voltage output range of -100 to 100 V and a current output range of -100 to 100 mA. Users can perform temperature-dependent measurements of I-V and quasi-static C-V curves, and other high and low frequency tests. An optical camera with 10 μm spatial resolution is available for sample alignment. |
| Wedge Bonder (25 um Aluminum wire, K&S 4523A) |
|
326 MRL |
|
|
| Ball Bonder (25 um Gold wire, K&S 4524A) |
|
326 MRL |
|
|
| Rapid Thermal Annealing furnace (Custom) – max temperature 1000°C |
|
328 MRL |
|
Rapid Thermal Annealing furnace (Custom) – max temperature 1000°C |
| High Temperature CM furnace – max temperature 1600°C to 1700°C |
|
328 MRL |
|
High Temperature CM furnace – max temperature 1600°C (long runs) to 1700°C (short runs) |
| Reactor Vacuum Furnace (RVF) |
|
322 MRL |
|
Reactor Vacuum Furnace - 1” tube furnace for recording pressure, temperature, vacuum, and reaction products at up to 1200°C |
| Tube furnace - 6 inch |
|
328 MRL |
|
6" Tube oxidation furnace – max temperature 1100°C |
| MJB4 Mask Aligner |
|
313 MRL |
|
|
| MJB3 Mask Aligner |
|
313 MRL |
|
The Karl Suss MJB_3 is a contact aligner used to expose the photoresist on samples from small pieces of 1 cm2 to substrates of 3-inch diameter or square and 300um-1mm in thickness. Masks up to 3 inches square. The resolution depends on contact mode, optics, exposure wavelength and "operator technique". Alignment is performed manually by manipulating micrometers while observing the sample and mask with a microscope.
|
| Nanoscribe Photonic Professional GT 3D Printer |
|
335 MRL |
|
The next generation 3D laser lithography system, MRL’s Nanoscribe sets new standards in 3D micro printing and maskless lithography. |
| Solvent Fume Hood or Developer Fume Hood |
|
384 MRL |
|
The solvent or developer fume hoods include DI water, nitrogen gun and ultrasonic bath. |
| Metal Etchant Fume Hood |
|
387 MRL |
|
MRL provides the following metal etchants for cleanroom users: - Copper Etchant CE-100 - Chromium Etchant 9057 - Iron Oxide Mask Etchant ME-9028 - Gold Etchant Type TFA |
| Acid Fume Hood |
|
359 MRL |
|
MRL provides the following acids for cleanroom users. This fume hood includes DI water, nitrogen gun and hot plate. |
| Commonwealth Scientific Ion Milling & Thermal Evaporator System |
|
334 MRL |
|
The Commonwealth Scientific Ion Milling & Thermal Evaporator System is a unique system which integrates the ion milling and thermal evaporator capabilities into one system. |
| Nordson March Reactive Ion Etch (RIE) Plasma System 2 |
|
342 MRL |
|
March CS-1701 reactive ion etcher is a bench-top system with water cooled RF platen. It is capable of etching photoresist, polymer and graphene. This system could be operated under manual mode or auto mode. |
| Nano-Master Reactive Ion Etch (RIE) Plasma System |
|
342 MRL |
|
Nano-master NPC 3000 is a bench-top Reactive Ion Etching (RIE) system with showerhead gas distribution and water cooled RF platen. It is designed to meet a wide range of needs including sample cleaning, photoresist stripping, surface modification, polymer etching and silicon etching. The chamber opens from the top for wafer loading or unloading. It can accept up to 8" (200 mm) wafers. |
| Plasma-Therm 790 MF Reactive Ion Etch (RIE) Plasma System |
|
342 MRL |
|
Plasma-therm 790 MF is a stand-alone Reactive Ion Etching (RIE) system with showerhead gas distribution and water cooled RF platen. The chamber could reach a base pressure in the 3x10-5Torr range, and it can be operated in the pressure range of 10mTorr to 100mTorr. The following gases are installed: CF4, CHF3, SF6 and O2.The flow rate for each gas is set by a mass-flow controller (MFC), and the pressure is controlled separately by a throttle valve between the chamber and the pump. All system functions are controlled from the computer. The control program has both manual and automatic modes. |
| AJA Orion-8 Magnetron Sputtering System |
|
336 MRL |
|
This equipment was funded through the Illinois MRSEC, NSF Award Number DMR-2309037. The AJA Orion-8 Magnetron Sputtering System is a high performance thin film deposition tool meant to deliver maximum performance and results for our research community. The system is equipped with a fast-cycle load-lock system which eliminates the need to vent the process chamber to load substrates, reducing the pump down time and contaminations of targets and interior chamber surfaces. It utilizes a motorized rotating substrate holder to achieve excellent uniformity. This machine is featured with complete recipe control to deliver best process reproducibility. |
| Savannah S100 Atomic Layer Deposition Cambridge Nanotech |
|
326 MRL |
|
The Savannah S100 ALD systems deliver outstanding deposition results and provide maximum experimental flexibility for ALD research, development, and production applications. |
| Plasma-Therm Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition System (PECVD) |
|
342 MRL |
|
Plasma-Therm plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) system is used for depositing Si3N4 dielectric films. The silicon nitride film is typically used for capacitor dielectrics, chemical passivation layers, electrical insulators, reactive ion etching masks, and optical anti-reflective coatings. |
| Kurt J. Lesker Nano36 Thermal Evaporator System |
|
326 MRL |
|
The Kurt J. Lesker Nano36 will evaporate a metal film under high vacuum while measuring the thickness in-sit by a thickness monitor. Up to three different materials can be loaded in one batch, and the evaporation sources are sufficiently isolated from each other by shields to prevent cross contamination.Currently the system is configured for Au, Ag, Cu and Cr evaporation. Due to the limited capacity of tungsten boat and rod, the thickness limit is 200nm/boat for Au, Ag, Cu, and 40nm/rod for Cr. |
| Yield Engineering Vacuum Curing Oven |
|
328 MRL | ||
| Yield Engineering HMDS Vapor Prime Oven-Cleanroom |
|
388 MRL |
|
|
| Headway PWM32 Wafer Spin Coater |
|
388 MRL |
|
|
| Oriel Re-Exposure Unit |
|
387 MRL |
|
|
| Lindberg 3 Zone Furnace-2 inch |
|
328 MRL |
|
Lindberg Three Zone 2 Inch - Tube oxidation/annealing furnace – max temperature 1100°C |