Facilities & Equipment

The MNFTL is housed in Rooms 1014 and 1020 of the Engineering Research Facility (ERF) located at 842 W. Taylor St. in Chicago. The laboratory operates a hydrothermal setup featuring two autoclave units that are capable of prolonged operation at temperatures up to 1000^oC and pressures up to 1000 bar. Several polymer processing setups are operated within chemical hoods, which allow the use of a wide array of chemical compounds. Additional support equipment available includes a Spectramax Gemini dual scanning microplate spectrofluorometer, which can perform a variety of fluorescent applications, as well as some time-resolved fluorescent and luminescent assays. Gas metering and control tools are also available. Other equipment includes a high-speed digital imaging system (Redlake, 10000 fps), several digital cameras, a microbalance (Sartorius), high intensity lighting, optical microscopes, a gas-purged glove box, an inkjet printing system (MicroFab Technologies) for printed electronics, a modulated Differential Scanning Calorimeter (DSC Q200, TA Instruments), an EFD spray robot, a temperature/ humidity chamber (ESPEC SH-641), function generators, power supplies, amplifiers and other electronic devices.

MNFTL staff has access to other UIC experimental facilities supporting micro- and nanotechnology, and materials characterization research. The following facilities are within a few steps from the MNFTL site:


The UIC Research Resources Center (RRC) maintains and supports state-of-the-art equipment needed to meet the needs of UIC researchers and their external collaborators. RRC personnel provide training and user access, as well as full professional services and expertise in material characterization studies. The multi-million dollar investment in equipment includes a JEOL 6320F Field Emission SEM, a SEM fitted with an EDD detector, a TopoMetrix Scanning Probe Microscope, a TEM/STEM with EDS and EELS, an aberration corrected TEM (JEOL ARM-200CF), a VG Microscope dedicated atomic-resolution STEM with EELS and Cs corrector for sub-Å resolution, a TEM for teaching and training, a Renishaw 2000 Raman microspectrometer, two mass spectrometers, and a JEOL JXA-733 microprobe system. For technical specifications of these instruments, click here. Specimen preparation equipment includes a Leica Ultramicrotome, a Fischione Plasma Cleaner, a Fischione Precision ion-mill, a Gatan Duo ion-mill and a Disc Cutter.

The UIC Nanotechnology Core Facility (NCF) is a versatile MEMS/Nano facility, which is accessible to University, non-profit and industrial researchers. The NCF enables research by providing access, training, service and process guidance on fabrication and characterization equipment. As a research and development laboratory, the NCF is dedicated to application of integrated circuit and fiber optic technology to improve manufacturing methods for MEMS/Nano devices, BioMEMS, Microfluidic, Electromechanical, Mechanical, Chemical, Optical, Photonic and multi-functional devices, some of which have previously been built by more traditional techniques. The NCF has versatile equipment for: Photolithography (Mask Making capabilities, Mid/Deep-UV, top & bottom alignment), Fabrication (DRIE for Silicon & Silica, RIE, PECVD Oxidation/ Diffusion, LPCVD, RTP, Bulk and Surface Micromachining, Sputtering and E-beam metal evaporation, Polymer deposition and processing), Metrology (AFM, Optical & Contact Profilometry, Optical Inspection, High speed camera, Thin Film Stress Measurement), and Back-end processing (Dicing, Lead attachment and die bonding).