Center for Nanotechnology Organization and Utilization (CNEU)

cneu duo zachary gray

PennState College of Engineering

CNEU Teaching Cleanroom

Earth Engineering Science Building University Park, PA

The teaching cleanroom at the Center for Education and Utilization (CNEU) at Penn State University is a roughly 1,300 square foot facility dedicated to education and workforce development. The CNEU cleanroom is used to provide students statewide and beyond with extensive hands-on experience in nanofabrication and nanocharacterization.  The CNEU teaching cleanroom has also been used for professional development workshops for educators at various levels ranging from K12 through university faculty.

The CNEU teaching cleanroom at Penn State is a cleanroom used exclusively for teaching, outreach, and workforce development. The cleanroom serves as a training spot for students from the state of Pennsylvania and beyond through partnerships between CNEU and many of the community colleges and universities throughout the state.  The cleanroom has basic nanofabrication capabilities along with basic nanocharacterization capabilities.  The cleanroom is also used for tours for K12 and remote access to scientific instrumentation through the RAIN network.

Facility at a Glance

Facility type: University cleanroom, Community college cleanroom or teaching lab, Teaching laboratory

Facility mission: Education and training, Semiconductor workforce development, Outreach and recruitment

Facility size: 1300 sqft

Cleanroom classification: ISO7/Class 10,000

Primary contact: Zachary Gray, Managing Director

Location: 212 Earth Engineering Science Building University Park PA 16802

Institution website: https://www.cneu.psu.edu/

Facility website: https://www.cneu.psu.edu/facilities/

Training program: https://www.cneu.psu.edu/nmt-capstone/

Equipment and capabilities: https://www.cneu.psu.edu/facilities/

 

Core Capabilities​

Lithography

  • Photolithography – Coat/Expose/Develop

Etching and Material Removal

  • Wet etching – KOH, BOE etc.
  • Dry etching / RIE

Metrology and Electrical Characterization

  • Metrology – Optical/
  • Metrology – FESEM
  • Metrology – AFM
  • Metrology – Thin Film/Profilometry/Ellipsometry

Thin Films and Thermal Processing

  • Thin film deposition – Sputter/Evap
  • Thermal oxidation

Featured Equipment

  • Zeiss Ultra 55 FESEM, PVD75 e-beam evaporator, Innova AFM, KLA D-500 Profilometer

Device Fabrication and Specialized Processing

  • Microfluidics
  • Semiconductor device fabrication (Discretes)
  • Nanomaterials processing

Materials and Applications

Materials Commonly Processed

  • Silicon
  • Silicon Dioxide
  • Metals
  • Glass
  • Photoresists, SU8 etc.

Devices and Application Areas

  • Semiconductor discrete devices (diodes, solar cell, integrated circuits)
  • Photonics / optoelectronics
  • Microfluidics
  • Educational demonstration devices

Metrology, Characterization, and Assembly

Metrology and Characterization

  • Optical microscopy
  • Profilometry
  • Ellipsometry
  • Film thickness measurement – Profilometry, Reflectometry
  • SEM
  • AFM

Education and Workforce Development

Training Offerings

  • Cleanroom safety training
  • Tool-specific training
  • Process training
  • Semiconductor fabrication training
  • Metrology training
  • Faculty professional development
  • Short courses / bootcamps

Delivery formats: In-person, Short course, Semester course, Summer program, Workshop

Courses and programs: E SC211, E SC212, E SC213, E SC 214, E SC 215, E SC216, E SC313, E SC521, E SC522

Approximate annual participation: 30-50

External or partner training: Case-by-case

Instructional Resources

Lab activities developed around the tools and equipment in the CNEU teaching cleanroom are available.

Opportunities for Collaboration

  • Shared training materials
  • Faculty professional development
  • Student exchanges or visits
  • Proposal development
  • Workforce grant opportunities
  • Conference presentations
  • Outreach activities

Potential contribution to WaferWorkforce: Workforce development and programmatic best practices for education of community college students, low-cost materials for outreach and recruitment

Resources or connections sought: Zachary Gray, Treylor Shirley – as needed to discuss partnership

Current Developments

Dedicated to workforce development and education.

Workshops may be announced.

Accessing the Facility

Prospective collaborators should contact the facility directly to discuss access, training, visits, research, or workforce-development opportunities.

Contact:
Zachary Gray
Managing Director
Center for Nanotechnology Organization and Utilization
Email: [email protected]
Phone: (717) 201 7603