University of New Mexico
Manufacturing Training & Technology Center
Albuquerque, New Mexico
The University of New Mexico Manufacturing Training and Technology Center (MTTC) Cleanroom is a shared-use micro- and nanofabrication facility supporting hands-on education, academic research, workforce training, technology development, and industry engagement.
Located at UNM’s Science & Technology Park, the MTTC provides students, researchers, educators, entrepreneurs, and industry users with access to semiconductor, MEMS, microsystems, thin-film, and advanced manufacturing tools and expertise. Through laboratory courses, research projects, workshops, bootcamps, and user-supported fabrication, participants gain practical experience with process development, device fabrication, troubleshooting, statistical process control, safety, and manufacturing documentation.
Facility at a Glance
- Facility type: Shared user facility, university cleanroom, research laboratory, teaching laboratory, and workforce training facility
- Total facility area: Approximately 7,000 square feet
- Cleanroom area: Approximately 2,000 square feet in four process bays
- Cleanroom classification: Class 1,000
- Primary contact:Matthias Pleil, Manager and Director
- Location: 800 Bradbury Drive SE, Suite 175, Albuquerque, NM 87106
- Website: UNM Manufacturing Engineering Program
- Equipment and capabilities Webpage: MTTC Equipment List
Core Capabilities
The MTTC supports process development and training across a broad range of microfabrication and semiconductor manufacturing areas.
Lithography
- Photoresist coating, exposure, and development
- Contact and proximity photolithography
- Maskless direct-write lithography
- Positive, negative, and thick-film photoresist processing
Etching and Material Removal
- Reactive ion etching
- Deep reactive ion etching
- XeF₂ silicon etching
- Vapor-phase HF processing
- KOH and other wet-chemical etching
- Wafer and substrate dicing
Packaging and Assembly
- Wafer and die dicing
- Wire bonding
- Probe-station testing
- Discrete-device packaging
Thin Films and Thermal Processing
- DC, pulsed-DC, and RF sputter deposition
- Thermal oxidation
- Diffusion and doping
- Annealing and thermal treatment
- Metal, alloy, dielectric, and semiconductor thin-film processing
Metrology and Electrical Characterization
- Optical microscopy
- Scanning electron microscopy
- Surface profilometry
- Thin-film reflectometry
- Sheet-resistance measurements
- Electrical probing
- Current-voltage and capacitance-voltage testing
- Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy
Materials and Applications
Materials commonly processed at the MTTC include:
- Silicon
- Silicon dioxide
- Silicon nitride
- Metals and alloys
- Photoresists and SU-8-type polymers
This Facility supports the fabrication and study of:
- MEMS sensors and actuators
- Semiconductor discrete devices
- Diodes and solar cells
- Microsystem devices
- Microfluidic structures
- Sensors and transducers
- Thin-film devices
- Educational demonstration devices
Education and Workforce Development
Education and workforce preparation are central to the MTTC mission. The facility supports undergraduate and graduate courses, community college partnerships, research experiences, professional development, and short-format industry and educator training.
Training offerings include:
- Cleanroom safety and gowning
- Tool-specific qualification
- Microfabrication process training
- Semiconductor fabrication
- MEMS fabrication
- Metrology and electrical characterization
- Design for fabrication
- Faculty professional development
- Short courses, workshops, and bootcamps
- Customized industry training
Programs are delivered through in-person, online, and hybrid formats, including semester courses, summer programs, workshops, and focused short courses.
The MTTC typically serves approximately:
- 50 undergraduate students annually
- 20 community college students annually
- 40 graduate students annually
The facility also supports faculty researchers, industry users, entrepreneurs, government partners, and visiting educators.
Courses and Instructional Resources
UNM courses and activities supported by the MTTC include:
- Undergraduate and graduate microfabrication fundamentals
- Advanced microfabrication and microsystem design
- Semiconductor and MEMS device-fabrication laboratories
- Industry internship and manufacturing courses
- Community college engineering-technology activities
- Summer research experiences
- Workforce workshops and bootcamps
The MTTC has developed educational modules, fabrication process flows, laboratory activities, masks, classroom kits, instructional videos, and bootcamp processes that may be shared or adapted through the WaferWorkforce network.
Opportunities for Collaboration
The MTTC welcomes collaboration with academic institutions, community colleges, government laboratories, workforce organizations, and industry partners.
Potential areas of collaboration include:
- Shared curriculum and training materials
- Faculty professional development
- Student exchanges and facility visits
- Shared process flows and instructional devices
- Equipment and safety best practices
- Standard operating procedures
- Wire-bonding and discrete-device packaging
- Metrology and characterization activities
- Industry engagement
- Outreach and recruitment
- Joint proposals and workforce-development initiatives
UNM is particularly interested in exchanging fabrication processes, equipment recommendations, instructional materials, and process flows that expand the range of devices students can fabricate.
Featured Expertise
MTTC personnel can contribute presentations, demonstrations, or technical discussions on topics including:
- XeF₂ etching and post-packaging MEMS release
- Semiconductor and MEMS workforce development
- Microfabrication education
- Cleanroom safety and equipment practices
- Shared-user facility operations
- Process development and troubleshooting
- Educational device-fabrication projects
Accessing the Facility
Access for outside users and visiting groups is evaluated on a case-by-case basis. Prospective academic, industry, government, or workforce-development partners are encouraged to contact the MTTC to discuss training, research, process development, or equipment needs.
Contact:
Dr. Matthias Pleil
Manager and Director, MTTC Cleanroom
University of New Mexico
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 505-272-7157
Call to action:
Consider the UNM MTTC Cleanroom for your microfabrication training, research, prototyping, and process-development needs.