The University of Arizona is entering a new era of micro- and nanotechnology with the newly renovated Nano Fabrication Core Facility, or NFC. 

A key component of the university’s Center for Semiconductor Manufacturing, the facility officially opened January 19 as a state-of-the-art space for exploration and discovery designed to support faculty research and drive regional economic development. The renovation began more than 18 months ago, and a ribbon-cutting ceremony was held on Feb. 17.

“We help researchers, entrepreneurs, start-ups and established companies to address important problems, develop new products and hire workers who, in turn, help fuel the local and state economy,” NFC Director Greg Book said. “For instance, researchers might need to fabricate a micro-electrical-mechanical-system or an optical waveguide and wonder how they can do that without investing millions of dollars on equipment. The answer is right here at the NFC.”

Located in the university’s Electrical and Computer Engineering Building, the renovated facility is an International Organization for Standardization, or ISO, 5 facility with approximately 6,800-square-feet of clean space. To maintain the ISO 5 standard, the space must maintain extremely low particulate counts to prevent contamination. The NFC uses a laminar air flow design that enables removal of particles down to 0.3 microns. (For reference, a human hair is about 100 microns across). While ambient air outside the clean room contains millions of particles per cubic meter, the ISO 5 standards at the facility ensure the particle count for the same amount of space is maintained at approximately 83 particles per cubic meter. 

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To achieve this level of precision, the facility requires specialized attire for users to minimize particle generation and uses HEPA filters, a raised floor to facilitate air flow and a chase system for air return. The NFC also has a high-capacity ultra-pure water system, an automated wastewater neutralization system, chemical storage bunkers, a mechanical shop, gas storage space and a liquid/gas N2 distribution system.

For users needing to meet mandatory national security regulations, the renovated NFC will offer a controlled International Traffic in Arms Regulations, or ITAR, bay providing secure, access-only lab space along with a dedicated ethernet connection. It also will offer closed, private space in which researchers, entrepreneurs, start-ups and companies can develop, prototype and test new products.

Building on its existing portfolio of cutting-edge tools, the NFC has budgeted an additional $6 million for new equipment, enhancing its capabilities. Prototyping a novel idea can be financially prohibitive, Book said, noting that “the cost of a single piece of equipment in a facility like NFC can range from $50,000 to several million. We think of NFC, therefore, as an idea accelerator.”

By providing an open, user-friendly, services-for hire model, the facility lowers the cost of research and development, putting new product development within reach for faculty and private clients.

Beyond the hardware, the NFC staff have more than 70 years of combined experience to assist researchers, companies and entrepreneurs with complex problems. Book described the NFC as a sort of “playground for innovation” and recounted how the team helped one local entrepreneur who arrived with only an idea on a piece of paper.

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“We did the actual layout design. We created the CAD files. We trained him to operate the tools to fabricate his device,” Book said. “We had the capability to transform his idea into a reality.”
The NFC is also equipped to function as a manufacturing center. Micro Hybrid Electronics, a Tucson-based company owned by Micro-Epsilon Group out of Germany, produces all their infrared emitters in the NFC and sells them worldwide.

Araca, another local company already working in the NFC, is set to deepen its partnership with the facility. When renovations are complete, they will donate a new planarization tool to the facility, making it available to other clients while retaining the ability to use it themselves. This tool will enable a wafer to be polished to an almost atomically smooth surface.

“Developing additional partnerships like Araca’s will enhance the lab’s value to users and will support future expansion,” Book said.

While the primary focus remains supporting research and economic development, the facility also is providing a training ground for a select number of U of A students studying materials science, chemical engineering and electrical engineering. Their semiconductor process laboratory course, taught by Zafer Mutlu, is providing them a front-row seat to learning how such a state-of-the-art facility is constructed.

“Students are getting hands-on experience setting up and qualifying new equipment, along with electronic device fabrication and characterization in a modern cleanroom environment—skills directly aligned with today’s semiconductor workforce,” said Mutlu, assistant professor of materials science and engineering.

Book agreed.

“In terms of workforce development, this is an unprecedented opportunity giving these students invaluable experience for future employment in the semiconductor industry,” he said. 

For information on how you can work with NFC, visit https://nfc.arizona.edu/