Laboratories Nano Manufacturing

Nano Manufacturing Laboratory

The novel phenomena (physical, chemical, biological, etc.) that appear at the nanoscale allow for creating new types of device functionalities that cannot be achieved at macro or microscale. Developing nanostructures/devices and assembling them into nanosystems require various issues to be addressed at different levels. One of the major challenges in the manufacturing level, for example, is to develop low-cost, high-throughput, scaleable device technologies that will allow system-level integration of various functional modules on the same chip with proper interconnection among devices and interface with the macro world. The School has on-going research activities in this area of nanoscale manufacturing.

Recently the researchers at the School have developed a novel method for forming highly-ordered nanostructures on wafers, utilizing the simplicity and effectiveness of the self-organized phenomenon in an electrochemical process. The research also explores developing 3D integrated architectures of nanostructures that possess programmable and randomly-addressable interconnection to each device. Using the self-organized nanostructures as a basic building block, the researchers are developing nanostructured devices/systems filled with various functional materials such as semiconductor, metal, ferroelectric, magnetic, and bio/chemical materials. The expected applications of these nanosystems are broad, including nanoelectronics (ultra-compact/high-density logic and memory chips), nanophotonics (photonic crystals, emitter/detector arrays), data storage (magnetic), sensor/transducer arrays (bio/chemical/electromechanical).

Swanson Center for Micro and Nano Systems

 

Questions?

• Don Shields
• Phone: 412-624-8120
• swansoninfo@
  engr.pitt.edu