A new and one-of-its-kind facility in Iowa recently opened its doors to researchers in Nanotechnology. The University of Iowa Microfabrication Facility (UIMF) within the Optical Science and Technology Center (OSTC) has recently installed an Electron Beam Nanolithography Tool for nano-scale device fabrication in the newly constructed ISO 5 cleanroom, located in the Iowa Advanced Technology Laboratories building. The delivery of this state-of-the-art lab has been made possible thanks to funding from the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and Office of the Vice President for Research and Economic Development.
This technology enables the fabrication of devices with features as small as 10 nm (~ 10,000 times smaller than the human hair) for a wide range of cutting-edge scientific and technological applications in areas ranging from light-emitting diodes and solar cells to bio-chips and medical implants. As one of the application examples, the current iPhone 6 consists of transistors that use a 20-nanometer process, and the future plan is to use a 14-nanometer process for iPhone 7. This implies packing more transistors for more functionalities, since the smallest feature size will be as small as 14 nm.
The fabrication technologies involved in building these transistors are available within the UIMF, in particular, the recent Electron Beam Nanolithography tool. This tool will also be used in the lab sessions of the undergraduate/graduate course, “Fundamentals of Micro and Nanofabrication” offered by the OSTC and the Department of Physics & Astronomy. This technology will further unite many disciplines, since the Departments of Physics & Astronomy, Chemistry, Electrical Engineering, Bio-medical Engineering, Chemical and Bio-Chemical Engineering, including several departments in the Carver College of Medicine and College of Pharmacy, are currently using the UIMF. Research areas and development of technologies enabled by this facility ranges from bio-medical devices, nano-scale sensors for biological pathogens detection to X-ray imaging, solar cells, optical devices and light-emitting diodes. Due to this initiative, the growth possibilities in the fields of nano-scale science and engineering at UI are limitless. As Nobel Laureate Richard Feynman noted almost 55 years ago, “When we get to the very, very small world – say circuits of seven atoms, we have a lot of new things that would happen that represent completely new opportunities for design.”
The University of Iowa Microfabrication Facility will help the UI explore those opportunities that will ultimately lead to exciting innovations.