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Launch Introductory Video

Get in touch. Find resources across the country.

  • Attend Workshops
  • Access Tools
  • Explore Programs
  • Find Employees
  • Explore Exit Skill Set

Competing in the 21st Century: The Nanotechnology Edge

Acquire the fundamentals of nanotechnology and explore the expected impact of nanotechnology on industries in Pennsylvania. Nanotechnology is an enabling technology that is impacting many industry sectors, which now include wood products, electronics, biotechnology, building and construction materials, agriculture and food production, plastics, and metals, to name a few. How effectively companies in these and other industries utilize nanotechnology in the years ahead will be crucial to their competitiveness.

April 21, 2009
9:00 a.m - 1:00 p.m.
Penn State Dubois Campus: Dubois, PA

Also know that it may be possible to request a custom workshop for your employees or local area. These can be tailored to industry needs or cover the general field of nanotechnology.

For more information on Industry Workshops contact Amy Brunner at abrunner@engr.psu.edu or 814-865-8977.

Remote Access

NACK Center brings cutting-edge technology and instrumentation into your classroom, laboratory, and industry site by offering remote access to nanotechnology processing instruments.

Traditionally, an engineer from Penn State University orchestrates the instrument’s use, while offering additional assistance via phone or video conference.

Remote access experiences have been held as far away as Australia!

Available Instrumentation

  • Atomic Force Microscope
  • Scanning Electron Microscope
  • Profilometer
  • UV-Vis Spectrophotometer

Get Remote Access

To discuss the remote access experience and determine what it takes to get involved, please contact:

Amy Brunner
abrunner@engr.psu.edu
814-865-8977

The Capstone Semester - Pennsylvania Nanofabrication Manufacturing Technology (NMT) Partnership/

NMT Partnership programs require the Capstone Semester at Penn State University Park. The semester includes six technical courses and offers access to state-of-the-art equipment and cleanroom facilities. These courses count towards an associate or baccalaureate degree at one of the many partner institutions.

The semester provides a graduating student with a diverse background in nanofabrication and over one hundred hours of hands on laboratory experience on a variety of fabrication and characterization tools.

Please visit the NMT Partnership's Capstone Semester page for further information about required courses and graduate skill sets.

Pennsylvania Nanotechnology Career Day

Pennsylvania holds an annual Nanotechnology Career Day in State College, Pennsylvania. This event is generally held in the fall and Pennsylvania-based companies are welcome to participate in the day's events. The day is designed to show students career opportunities that align with their newly acquired skill set.

Each company that registers is encouraged to bring a table display and promotional materials as well as deliver a 30-minute presentation to our audience. Presentations can be used to discuss any facet of your company (company overview, emerging technology, open positions, etc.). Interview space also is available for meeting with potential applicants. Some previous attendees include: Silberline, Kurt Lesker, Veeco, Plextronics, Lehigton Electronics, Cyoptics, Fairchild, and Lockheed Martin.

Further Information

If you would be interested in obtaining more information or are interested in participating in the 2009 Annual Career Day, please contact:

Jamie Houseknecht
Juh147@engr.psu.edu
814-865-5285

Industry Skill Set

NACK offers the complete curriculum (lecture notes and lab procedures) for 6 courses (the Capstone Course Set) that, working with industry, have been developed for teaching a broad, hands-on perspective of nanotechnology. These courses allow a student to emerge with an Exit Skill Set that has been determined by our Industry Board to be the skills which industry wants for a nanotechnology workforce and which a student needs for a viable career . The Industry Advisory Board, composed of a variety of companies that benefit from and use nanotechnology, annually reviews the Exit Skill Set and recommends its modification when and if needed.

This Exit Skill Set established by industry and provided by the Capstone Courses is the following:

E SC 211
Materials, Safety, and Equipment Overview for Nanotechnology

This course provides an overview of the materials, safety and equipment issues encountered in the practice of “top down” and “bottom up” nanofabrication. It focuses on safety, environmental and health issues in equipment operation and materials handling as well as on cleanroom protocol. Topics to be covered include: cleanroom operation, OSHA lab standard safety training, health issues, biosafety levels (BSL) guidelines, and environmental concerns. Safety issues dealing with nanofabrication equipment, materials, and processing are also discussed including those pertinent to biological materials, wet benches, and processing tools such as thermal processing tools, plasma based equipment, beam, stamping, and imprinting lithography tools. Safety issues pertinent to vacuum systems and pumps, and gas delivery systems as well as toxic substance handling and detection are covered. Specific material handling procedures to be discussed will include corrosive, flammable, and toxic materials, biological materials, carcinogenic materials, DI water, solvents, cleaners, photo resists, developers, metals, acids, and bases.

E SC 212
Basic Nanotechnology Processes

This course is a hands-on introduction to the processing involved in “top down”, “bottom up”, and hybrid nanofabrication. The majority of the course details a step-by-step description of the equipment, facilities processes and process flow needed to fabricate devices and structures. Students learn to appreciate processing and manufacturing concerns including process control, contamination, yield, and processing interaction. The students design process flows for micro- and nano-scale systems. Students learn the similarities and differences in “top down” and “bottom up” equipment and process flows by undertaking hands-on processing. This hands-on exposure covers basic nanofabrication processes and device and material characterization.

E SC 213
Materials in Nanotechnology

This course is an in-depth, hands-on exposure to materials fabrication approaches used in nanofabrication. Students learn how these processes are guided by chemical or physical means or by some combination of these. Hands-on exposure will include self-assembly; colloidal chemistry; atmosphere, low-pressure and plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition; sputtering; thermal and electron beam evaporation; nebulization and spin-on techniques. This course is designed to give students hands-on experience in depositing, fabricating and self-assembling a wide variety of materials tailored for their mechanical, electrical, optical, magnetic, or biological properties.

E SC 214
Patterning for Nanotechnology

This course is a hands-on treatment of all aspects of advanced pattern transfer and pattern transfer equipment including probe techniques; stamping and imprinting; block co-polymer approaches; e-beam, optical contact and optical stepper systems. The first part of this course is an overview of all pattern generation processes covering aspects from substrate preparation to tool operation. A second section concentrates on photolithography and examines such topics as mask, template, and mold generation. Chemical makeup of resists will be discussed including polymers, solvents, sensitizers, and additives. The role or dyes and antireflective coatings will be discussed. In addition, critical dimension (CD) control and profile control of resists will be investigated. Another section will discuss the particle beam lithographic techniques such as e- and ion beam lithography. An additional section covers probe pattern generation and the final section explores embossing lithography, step-and-flash, stamp lithography, and self assembling-based lithography. course is a hands-on treatment of all aspects of advanced pattern transfer and pattern transfer equipment including probe techniques; stamping and embossing; e-beam; and optical contact and stepper systems. The course is divided into five major sections. The first section is an overview of all pattern generation processes covering aspects from substrate preparation to tool operation. The second section concentrates on photolithography and examines such topics as mask template, and mold generation. Chemical makeup of resists will be discussed including polymers, solvents, sensitizers, and additives. The role or dyes and antireflective coatings will be discussed. In addition, critical dimension (CD) control and profile control of resists will be investigated. The third section will discuss the particle beam lithographic techniques such as e-beam lithography. The fourth section covers probe pattern generation and the fifth section explores embossing lithography, step-and-flash, stamp lithography, and self assembled lithography.

E SC 215
Materials Modification in Nanotechnology

This course will cover in detail the processing techniques and specialty hardware used in modifying properties in nanofabrication. Material modification steps to be covered will include etching, functionalization, alloying, stress control, surface energy modification, and doping. Avoiding unintentional materials modification will also be covered including such topics as use of diffusion barriers, encapsulation, electromigration control, corrosion control, wettability, stress control, and adhesion. Hands-on materials modification and subsequent characterization will be undertaken.

E SC 216
Characterization, Testing of Nanotechnology Structures and Materials

This course examines a variety of techniques and measurements essential for testing and for controlling material fabrication and final device performance. Characterization includes electrical, optical, physical, and chemical approaches. Tools to be covered include scanning probe microscopies (AFM, STM, NSOM), electron beam microscopies (transmission electron microscopy (TEM)) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM)), secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS), auger electron spectroscopy (AES), light (UV-Vis-IR) based techniques, and x-ray techniques. Hands-on characterization experience will include use of tools such as the atomic force microscope (AFM), scanning electron microscope (SEM), fluorescence microscopes, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy.



More in depth information on the Exit Skill Set can be obtained on the PA Nanofabrication Manufacturing Technology NMT Partnership student recruitment website.