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UC Riverside is driving innovation and economic development by merging two highly specialized laboratories on campus. The program will expand access and capabilities for academic researchers and private sector users, including those working to commercialize UCR innovations.
The new laboratory will be formed by merging existing nanofabrication facilities with the Center for Advanced Microscopy and Microanalysis (CFAMM). Shane Cybart, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering at the California Institute of Telecommunications and Information Technology (Calit2) and department chair at the University of California, Riverside (UCR), explained that through an early campus grant of approximately $3 million to purchase new equipment, the new facility will have a larger Research capacity. ), will manage the new facility.
Seibat said the combined nanofabrication and electron microscopy facilities will eliminate duplication and competition between the two facilities. Located in the basement area of the Materials Science and Engineering building, the merger will be seamless for equipment already up and running, while the new additions are expected to be completed in about a year.
UC Riverside researchers in disciplines including medicine, plant sciences, physics, agriculture, computer science and electronics will continue to benefit from state-of-the-art research facilities. A set of ceiling HEPA air filters keeps the air in the laboratory’s “clean room” free of dust, pollen and other common airborne particles needed to manufacture nanoscale computer and electronic components.
“We have a new laser lithography system that allows researchers to write circuits directly for rapid prototyping,” Cybart said. “We also added an electron beam lithography system that allows you to create structures as small as 8 nanometers. That’s only about 15 atoms!” (A nanometer is one billionth of a meter.)
The laboratory also has equipment for microscopic characterization of organic and inorganic materials, biological tissues and minerals using electron beam technology. The equipment includes electron microscopes that utilize scanning, transmission and focused ion beam technologies, which are important for life science research.
Administered by the UC Riverside Office of Research and Economic Development, the experiment is also available to entrepreneurs working to commercialize UC Riverside scientific innovations and to high-tech companies in need of state-of-the-art training and product development facilities. room.
University of California, Riverside (UCR) Vice Chancellor Rodolfo Torres explains that by creating synergies between academia, emerging biotech and high-tech industries, the university will enhance its national presence reputation, and financially benefit by attracting new grants and contracts and earning royalties from commercially successful UC Riverside innovations. Distinguished Professor of Mathematics for Research and Economic Development. An industrialized laboratory is also expected to boost the Inland Empire’s economy by making the area more attractive to biotech and high-tech companies.
“These facilities provide UCR with excellent opportunities to conduct research and training in a very professional manner, especially in clean room facilities. This is much needed in the computer chip industry,” Torres said. “You can provide students with the training that high-tech companies like Intel need.”
Torres said laboratory user fees and investments from UC Riverside’s Office of Research and Economic Development will be used to maintain the lab. In the short term, financial support will also be provided by the Office of the Provost, the Burns School of Engineering, and the School of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, but these funds will be phased out as the new facility becomes financially sustainable.
The new unit will advance UCR-Calit2, a multidisciplinary institute for academic and industry researchers jointly operated by UCR, UC Irvine and UC San Diego. It is one of four California Science and Innovation Institutes established by the Governor’s Office on UC campuses to address major research questions that require multidisciplinary approaches and complex instrumentation. UCR joins Calit2 in 2022. Researchers associated with the three campuses have access to all three laboratories, which avoids the duplication of expensive equipment and other resources.
“It doesn’t make sense for UCR to buy a $2 million machine for one person when UC Irvine or UC San Diego might already have one. By comparison, UCR has a lot that other schools don’t. Specialized equipment, so there’s a lot of synergy,” Cybart said.
Cybert added, “We believe our efforts will bring new capabilities to the Inland Empire and ensure our students, faculty and local business community have a seat at the table in the nation’s drive to domestic microelectronics manufacturing and research. .”
Title photo: Facilities manager Dong Yan trains first-year doctoral student Rochelle Qu on how to use equipment in the clean room of the Materials Science and Engineering Expansion Laboratory on March 19, 2024. (UCR/Stan Lim)
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