News and Announcements

Soft Lithography Capability
Soft lithography refers to a group of nonphotolithographic methods that can be used to fabricate or replicate structures, using polymers such as polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS).  Examples include micro contact printing, replica molding, micromolding in capillaries and microtransfer molding.  Many of these techniques were developed by George Whitesides at Harvard University.  Applications include fabrication of microfluidic devices, patterning on nonplanar surfaces, fabrication of complex optical surfaces, and stamps for selective application of biological materials.

At the Nanofabrication Center we are establishing a soft lithography capability centered around SU-8 molding of PDMS. SU-8 is a commonly used molding material for PDMS, and can be formed into structures of a wide range of sizes and shapes.  These masters can be made with nanoscale feature sizes using our electron beam lithography system, or with larger sizes using conventional photolithographic processing.  We are also working to put in place the equipment necessary to do the PDMS molding as well.  Please contact us if you are interested in learning how we can help you with soft lithography.



MEMS Designing and Simulating Software
Using National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network (NNIN) support, the Nanofabrication Center has licensed the Coventor software suite for designing and simulating MEMS devices.  The lab acquired a single-seat one year license to Architect and the Designer/Analyzer tool (www.coventor.com/coventorware.html).  The software can be downloaded to your computer and you can use the license file that we have loaded on an Electrical & Computer Engineering department server.  If you have an interest in using this tool for academic research, please contact the lab for help with setting it up.



Safety Training Offered Twice a Month
This class is offered on the first Thursday (1:00-3:00) and the third Thursday (10:00-12:00) of each month in room 1-165 EE/CSCI.

The Nanofabrication Center (NFC) requires each new user to take our safety training course before gaining access to the lab.  This course consists of a safety video, test, tour of the facility and website training.

For more information: http://www.nfc.umn.edu/safety/safety_training_info.pdf