UCSD Nano3 Shared Research Facility

The Nanoscience, Nanoengineering and Nanomedicine Research Facility (Nano3) is a multidisciplinary shared research facility located at UCSD’s Qualcomm Institute. Nano3 provides researchers from across the country with world-class expertise, instrumentation, and services for multidisciplinary nanoscience, engineering, and medicine research. On a yearly basis, Nano3 has more than 50,000 hours of instrument usage, serves more than 600 users from academia and over 60 industrial companies. Nano3 is also the main facility of the San Diego Nanotechnology Infrastructure (SDNI), one of the 16 nation-wide sites of the National Nanotechnology Coordinated Infrastructure (NNCI) supported by the National Science Foundation since 2015. Nano3 consists of over 7000 square feet of Class-100 and Class-1000 cleanrooms equipped with state-of-the-art tools, such as including Raith EBPG 100kV high-resolution electron beam lithography system, Heidelberg MLA 150 dual-wavelength laser writer, Oxford Instruments Plasmalab ICP/RIEs and PECVD, Plasma-Therm SLR ICP/RIE, Heidelberg NanoFrazor (the first commercial thermal scanning probe lithography system), and Finetech Fineplacer Sigma flip-chip bonder, to unlock new scientific and technological frontiers. In addition, Nano3 has 3000 square feet of analytical and design labs with various advanced characterization equipment, including Focused Ion Beam (FIB), high resolution transmission electron microscope (TEM), atomic force microscopes (AFM), field-emission electron microscopes (FE-SEMs), and more, providing researchers with various metrology options to aid their technology development. Nano3 is a key member of the California Defense Ready Electronics and Microdevices Superhub (CA DREAMS), a program funded by DOD under the US CHIPS Act. We work closely with USC, Caltech, and other University of California campuses, as well as many industry partners including Northrop Grumman, HRL, Teledyne, PDF Solutions.