Micro- and Nanotechnology facilities

The NSL provides “state-of-the-art” equipment for the fabrication and characterization of nanostructures and operates an almost 210 m² cleanroom at the KIT (South Campus). About 40 m² meet the requirements of a class 6 cleanroom, the other areas meet the requirements of class 7 according to DIN EN ISO 14644-1. The infrastructure consists mainly of equipment for the structuring, manipulation and characterization of nanostructures. For lithography, a 50-keV electron beam writer , a SEM equipped with Raith Elphy Plus system, direct laser writers for a optical lithography in 2D and 3D as well as a Maskaligner are at the user's disposal. A focussed-ion-beam machine allows for ion beam lithography, ion sputtering and deposition with a focussed metal ion beam. A scanning force microscope, equipment for film deposition and shadow evaporation by means of a thermal evaporation and sputtering, and facilities for reactive ion etching (RIE and ICP) using chlorine and fluorine chemistry, respectively, complete the equipment. Projects at the NSL are executed either as full service provided by the NSL staff or as a collaborative research project. Under certain circumstance users can use the major equipment on their own after an intensive training. Access to the cleanroom equipment and project-oriented accounting is managed by a web-browser based booking system which provides the basis for the allocation of machine time. For a sustained operation a usage fee is charged to the users to cover the project-specific usage costs of cleanroom and equipment. Third-party funded projects which are performed in building 30.25 (CFN building) have to meet the requirements of a non-profit-making character and of a general benefit to the public, or should be allocated to the public duties.