The SENIC partnership between IEN and JSNN provides the most modern facilities and complete collection of tools for both top-down and bottom-up nanoscale science and engineering research in the southeastern US. In addition, the technical and research personnel that maintain the equipment and support users has hundreds of man-years of experience working on the broadest possible research problems. Access and training has been designed to promote the culture of open-access facilities, to foster research, education, and outreach in diverse fields, to break the isolation between fields, to lower the barrier between users and well-equipped research facilities, and to support nanoscience and nanotechnology activities. External users can obtain access to both sites via a single user agreement.

Georgia Tech Institute for Electronics and Nanotechnology (IEN)

Hands-on, shared user cleanroom space totals 28,500 square feet in the Marcus and Pettit buildings. These cleanrooms are general use for electronics, MEMS, photonics, and materials research, along with a specialized Organic Cleanroom for work at the interface between fabrication and life sciences. In 2014, the IEN completed construction on the Materials Characterization Facility which provides nearly 6000 sq. ft. of state-of-the-art environmentally controlled labs for high-resolution imaging and microanalysis tools. The Packaging Research Center consists of 13,400 square feet dedicated to System-on-Package (SOP) and other emerging microsystems, while the Georgia Electronic Design Center has 16,500 square feet focused on high frequency, broadband, mixed signal devices, circuits, and systems. Additional laboratories under IEN control include the Laser Machining Lab for micro-machining of diverse materials (polymers, glasses, ceramics, metals, and organics) using UV and IR laser sources, and a Teaching Cleanroom dedicated to support advanced training and lab courses taught in the areas of CMOS fabrication, MEMS, and micro/nanoelectronic processing by GT academic units.

All of the more than 200 individual tools (with at least 100 mm substrate capability) within the IEN toolset are accessible to both internal and external users for hands-on use. Training requests, scheduling, and routine communications are all handled through a web-based interface, and in-the-lab access is controlled with an in-house developed electronic access control system which documents all usage for subsequent billing.

 

Joint School of Nanoscience and Nanoengineering (JSNN)

The JSNN facility is a 105,000 square foot interdisciplinary research building (LEED Gold Certified) operated and managed by the Gateway University Research Park (South Campus). All laboratories at JSNN are core, open-use and shared, with faculty lab managers. The key facilities included as part of this partnership include the Nanoelectronics and Nanobioelectronics Cleanrooms (7000 square feet, Class 100-10,000 bays), the Nanofabrication Facility (hard and soft particle synthesis, characterization, and scale-up), the Characterization and Imaging Suite, Analytical Lab, Nanobiology, Nanochemistry, BSL-3, Biomass energy, Hydroponics, and High Performance Computing and Visualization Facility.

The JSNN cleanroom adds a toolset for UV, e-beam, ion-beam, and inkjet patterning, deposition (metal and dielectric), wet processing, reactive and deep reactive ion etching, thermal processing, and process metrology for substrates up to 200 mm diameter. In addition to conventional nanofabrication tools, JSNN is one of only a few US institutions that operates a Zeiss Orion Helium Ion Microscope for sub 10-nm lithography, milling, deposition and imaging. JSNN also adds additional capability for post-processing of 200 mm wafers using CMP, brush cleaning, plating and critical point drying. All tools are available for both internal and external users.