The Nanofabrication Central Facility (NCF) provides the necessary fabrication and characterization resources for research into modern device technologies, including electronics, microfluidics, and photonics. It contains the varied pieces of equipment required for a complete fabrication sequence of devices such as transistors and lasers, and also includes tools for lithography, etching, metal and dielectric deposition, and various thermal treatments. The NCF provides the primary fabrication support for faculty and students in Engineering and Physics studying nanostructures and advanced devices and also provides technological services for departments, including Biology and Medicine, Chemistry, and Geological Sciences. Additionally, this facility supports graduate and undergraduate instruction, including an undergraduate Design of Semiconductor Devices experimental course that is entirely run on Nanofabrication Central Facility equipment.
The NCF is organized as a self-use laboratory, which allows users the opportunity to develop critical skills to perform advanced research. The NCF technical staff will provide new users with practical training, including the facility standard operating practice, safety training requirements and instrument operation. In addition to supporting authorized users, the NCF technical staff is also available to perform instrument operations for researchers.
The NCF is run on a user fee basis and is available to all Brown University departments, as well as, researchers from local industry and academic institutions. The NCF is administered by the Institute for Molecular and Nanoscale Innovation (IMNI) and is operated as a cost center to provide support for personnel, supplies, and routine maintenance of the equipment.