West Virginia University has installed a Jeol JSM-7600F e-beam lithography/scanning electron microscope (SEM) in its Nanosystems Engineering Shared Cleanroom (NESC).
The SEM is outfitted with a customised acoustic enclosure to isolate it from the constant background noise, vibration and magnetic interference of the class-10,000 clean room.
As an e-beam lithography system, it will produce precise patterns and features just nanometers in width on silicon substrates.
As an SEM, it will allow students and researchers to examine nanowires linked to extremely small components at ultrahigh resolution and magnifications up to 1,000,000X.
This level of precision will be demanded around the clock in a multiuser environment that also contains polymer spinners, wet development benches and plasma-etch tools.
The SEM is part of the university's vigorous WVNano Initiative, giving researchers and students from multiple disciplinary fields the tools and facilities they need to develop new biosensors, semiconductor devices, structures and photonic crystals.
The new SEM has replaced an antiquated e-beam lithography tool on another part of the large campus.
It will allow rapid proof of design and application testing.
Dr Kolin Brown, research programme co-ordinator for WVU's clean room, said: 'The interests of our students are so vast.
'They are studying materials, or looking at the biomedical side of early cancer detection, where a lot of our work is looking at delivery of organic materials to sensors to create devices that act as unique sensors.
'These biomaterials may be used for detection of viruses or pathogens for homeland security.
'Other times we're just trying to create a method of measuring new materials interaction.
'We do everything from pure to applied sciences.' The new SEM will be part of that initiative.
By outfitting it with a JC Nabity pattern generator, the NESC has optimised the performance of this instrument as a lithography tool.
Housed in the NESC busy clean-room environment, a sealed and temperature-controlled acoustical chamber will protect the electron optics column and precision electron-beam generation from outside interferences.
Jeol engineers and West Virginia University engineers met with Integrated Dynamics Engineering (IDE) to custom fit the enclosure for easy access, minimal use of space, robust sealing of the panels for repeated opening and closing, uncompromising temperature stability and failsafe noise dampening.
IDE's AKH panel technology achieves optimal acoustic isolation.
