Micro and Nano Characterization Facility: Operations Methodology and Technical Management

Abstract

Summary form only given. The Micro and Nano Characterization Facility (MNCF) located in Centre for Nano Science and Engineering (CeNSE) building on the Indian Institute of Science (IISc, Bangalore, INDIA) campus is a centralized facility for characterization of Micro and Nano Devices. The National Nanofabrication Centre (NNFC) which is 10,000 sq. ft. of clean room housing state of the art equipment for nanofabrication is located in the same building. The MNCF is 5000 sq. ft precision controlled environment facility housing 4 distinct laboratories for Electrical, Mechanical, Optical and Material Characterization. The MNCF is a national facility with plethora of high end equipment spanning over multiple disciplines of nano science and engineering rarely found under a single roof. The prime funding agencies to establish this facility are NPMAS-DRDO and MCIT. MNCF is a fully-staffed, user research facility at IISc that offers researchers convenient and reasonably priced access to a wide- range of state-of-the-art analytical instrumentation and services. The Mission of this facility is to support research and educational objectives of CeNSE, IISc and offer state of the art characterization facilities and services to nanoscience academia (thorugh INUP), related industries and National Laboratories. The CeNSE witnesses multidesciplinary research activities in nano-scale electronics, nano technologies, smart materials, micro and nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS, MEMS), bio-electronic interfaces and integrated small-scale systems. Various characterization techniques available in MNCF are RF Characterization, AC/DC Characterization, AC/DC Characterization at different temperatures in electrical characterization lab. Mechanical characterization of MNCF is equipped with techniques like laser dopplar vibrometry, Stroboscopic Video Microscopy, White Light Interferometry, Non-destructive acoustic Investigations, Atomic Force Microscopy, Tensile and compressive strength measurements. Material Characterization Lab houses SEM, FIB, Nano particle analysis techniques and optical characterization lab facilitates STM, PL, RAMAN Spectroscopy, Solar Cell Characterization and quantum efficiency measurements. XPS and XRD facilities are scheduled for commissioning soon. This paper discusses various challenges involved in establishing the infrastructure of the facility, financial and technical operations, staffing, access control and maintenance of user discipline during its' 24/7 operations.