AREA OF EXPERTISE
The primary focus of the Penn State Nanofabrication Laboratory within the NNIN is to provide specialized instruments and technical support in the following areas:
Complex ferroelectric oxide device micro- and nanofabrication
The Nanofab Lab is building on Penn State’s strength in complex ferroelectric oxide material thin film deposition and device processing to establish a comprehensive and integrated set of instruments to support the more stringent fabrication requirements associated with these material systems, which include Pb-based oxides.
The NNIN-supported technical liaison and staff are working in collaboration with Penn State faculty at the Keck Smart Materials Integration Laboratory to develop and document robust baseline processes for complex oxide microelectromechanical system (MEMS) devices similar to the MEMS exchange for Si based devices.
Chemical and molecular-scale nanotechnology
The Nanofab has transitioned self assembled monolayer (SAM)-based chemical patterning methods and directed nanomaterials assembly techniques from Penn State Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC) into the NNIN. The strong coupling between traditional top-down
nanofabrication and bottom-up molecular self assembly provides a unique capability within the NNIN that can be used in applications where it may be necessary to flexibly derivatize surfaces with specific chemical and biological functionality.
The Penn State site is also working to add advanced instruments and processes developed in the MRSEC to deposit doped amorphous Si thin films for a variety of energy applications and infrared thin films (chalcogenide glass) for on-chip optical devices.
