Princeton University
Micro/Nanofabrication Center (MNFC)

Princeton University

Micro/Nanofabrication Center(MNFC)

Princeton, New Jersey

The Micro / Nanofabrication Center (MNFC) has over 15,000 sq. ft. of ISO 5 – 6 cleanroom with over 75 tools to support researchers’ start-of-the-art fabrication needs. Contiguous with the main cleanroom is a 1,500 sq. ft. undergraduate teaching lab committed to educating and training. Part of the Princeton Materials Institute (PMI), adjacent core facilities include the Imaging & Analysis Center (IAC) and the Advanced MicroAssembly and Packaging (AMAP) labs. With a professional and experienced staff of 7 to support your fabrication needs, the MNFC is the preeminent cleanroom for researchers in Princeton University and external users from industry and academia in the New Jersey and Mid-Atlantic region.

The MNFC supports a full suite of lithography tools including two electron-beam lithography systems, direct-write and contact photolithography, 3D-printing, and all required support tools for creating patterns from the meso to the nanoscale. Further processing equipment includes a wide range of evaporators, sputtering systems, atomic-layer deposition (ALD), chemical vapor deposition (CVD), and RIE and ICP-RIE based etching systems for a variety of materials.

In addition to more typical electronic and quantum device development, the MNFC also supports fabrication in a variety of areas including advanced diamond etching, silicon and III-V processing, Micro Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS), photonics, microfluidics, detectors for high-energy physics and cosmology, structures for analysis in chemistry and life sciences, and much more.
Adjacent PMI core facilities include the Imaging & Analysis Center (IAC) with world-class electron microscopy and advanced material analysis tools, as well as the Advanced MicroAssembly and Packaging (AMAP) labs, providing a full suite of tools for advanced device fabrication, packaging, and material analysis.

Facility at a Glance

Facility type: University cleanroom, Shared user facility

Facility mission: Academic research

Facility size: 15,000 sq.ft. and over 75 major fabrication tools

Cleanroom classification: ISO 5-7

Primary contact: Daniel Woodie, Director

Location: 86 Olden St., Princeton, NJ 08540

Institution website: https://www.princeton.edu/

Facility website: https://mnfc.princeton.edu/

Training program: https://mnfc.princeton.edu/how-become-user

Equipment and capabilities: https://mnfc.princeton.edu/tool-list

Core Capabilities​

The MNFC has over 75 fabrication tools including electron-beam lithography, photolithography, thin film evaporation, sputtering, reactive ion etching, chemical vapor deposition, metrology, and a full packaging lab for your advanced fabrication and packaging needs.

Lithography

  • Photolithography – Coat/Expose/Develop
  • Maskless lithography / direct-write lithography
  • Electron Beam Lithography

Etching and Material Removal

  • Wet etching – KOH, BOE etc.
  • Dry etching / RIE / ICP-RIE
  • Deep reactive ion etching / DRIE

Featured Equipment

  • Electron Beam Lithography (Raith EBPG 5150+) down to 10 nm
  • Photolithography (Heidelberg DWL 66+) down to 600 nm
  • Diamond processing / etching equipment for quantum and MEMS applications
  • Thick Indium Evaporator for bump bonding / superconducting applications
  • Soft Lithography Suite of tools for Microfluidics (PDMS)
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  • Advanced packaging facility focused on remote support for challenging packing needs

Packaging and Assembly

  • Packaging and wire bonding

Thin Films and Thermal Processing

  • Thin film deposition – Sputter/Evap
  • Thin film deposition PECVD / ICP-CVD
  • Thermal oxidation

Metrology and Electrical Characterization

  • Metrology – Optical/SEM CD’s
  • Metrology – Thin Film/Profilometry
  • Electrical testing
  • Contact Angle Measurement
  • Thin Film Sheet Resistance
  • Advanced SEM image analysis software (ProSEM)

Device Fabrication and Specialized Processing

  • Microfluidics
  • MEMS Sensor/Actuator fabrication
  • Semiconductor device fabrication (Discretes)
  • Quantum devices and diamond substrate processing

Materials and Applications

Materials Commonly Processed

  • Silicon
  • Silicon Dioxide
  • Silicon Nitride
  • Metals
  • III-V materials
  • Glass
  • Polymers
  • Photoresists, SU8 etc.
  • Diamond

Devices and Application Areas

  • MEMS Sensors
  • MEMS Actuators
  • Semiconductor discrete devices (diodes, solar cell, integrated circuits)
  • Photonics / optoelectronics
  • Microfluidics
  • BioMEMS
  • Quantum devices
  • Power electronics
  • RF / microwave devices
  • Sensors and transducers
  • Thin film devices

Metrology, Characterization, and Assembly

Metrology and Characterization

  • Optical microscopy
  • Profilometry
  • Ellipsometry
  • Film thickness measurement – Profilometry, Reflectometry
  • SEM
  • Electrical Probing
  • I-V / C-V testing
  • Sheet Resistance

Packaging and Assembly

  • Dicing
  • Wire Bonding
  • Die Attach
  • PCB integration
  • Device Packaging
  • Other

Education and Workforce Development

Training Offerings

  • Cleanroom safety training
  • Tool-specific training
  • Other

Delivery formats: In-person, Online

Courses and programs: Single undergraduate course taught in dedicated instructional lab space

Approximate annual participation: 200

External or partner training: No

Opportunities for Collaboration

  • Shared training materials
  • Equipment best practices
  • Safety procedures
  • Industry engagement
  • Workforce grant opportunities
  • Outreach activities

Potential contribution to WaferWorkforce: We have an instructional lab that is very lightly used for undergraduate instruction that I would like to start running short courses in for both internal researchers as well as external attendees (external academic researchers, industry researchers, CC faculty, etc.)

Resources or connections sought: Process flows for short courses for devices beyond basic transistors / solar cells

Featured Expertise

Innovative ideas on facility management.

Accessing the Facility

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

Contact:
Daniel Woodie
Director
Princeton University
Email: [email protected]
Phone: (607) 227-2993