Overview
The Binnig and Rohrer Nanotechnology Center will be a state-of-the-art exploratory cleanroom fabrication facility combined with "noise-free" labs. These facilities will support world-class exploratory research aiming at nanotechnology applications. Both near-term and long-term projects will be pursued.
The cutting-edge cleanrooms, which will feature class 100/1000 facilities with class 10 mini-environments, will accommodate the following processes:
- Lithography for pattern definition
- Wet processing for substrate cleaning and wet chemical etching
- Thin-film deposition on metals and isolators
- Dry etching for material removal using reactive gases
- Thermal processing for oxidation, annealing and vapor phase deposition
- Metrology/inspection with optical and electron microscopes for surface topology and thickness measurements
- Backend processes including plating, lapping/polishing, dicing and bonding
- Polymer waveguide processing for optical interconnects
Processes, most of which will be semiconductor-based (silicon, III/V), will be conducted on materials similar to those used in standard semiconductor technology, such as silicon, metals, isolators, polymers, organics and oxides. The Binnig and Rohrer Nanotechnology Center will not be a production or a pilot line with fixed processes or wafer sizes, because flexibility (up to wafer sizes of 6 inches) is of utmost importance.