Background
The SMFL Facility started out as the RIT Microelectronic Engineering cleanroom
facility. It was built in 1985 to support the first ABET accredited undergraduate
program in Microelectronic
Engineering. Dr. Lynn Fuller, Dean Richard Kenyon, and others helped to
start this new engineering curriculum at RIT and were the driving force behind
the construction of the current building. A federal grant provided $5.5M toward
the construction of the Center for Microelectronic and Computer Engineering
which houses the cleanroom.
The main portion of the facility is 10,000 sq. ft. of class 1000 cleanroom with a bay and chase configuration. Additional laboratory space includes a class 100/10 MEBES E-beam Laboratory (established by Perkin-Elmer), an Excimer Laser Laboratory (established by the Keck Foundation), a surface analysis laboratory, a chemical-mechanical planarization laboratory, and an electrical characterization laboratory.
Some statistics
- 10,000 square feet of Class 1000, 100, & 10 cleanroom space.
- Complete equipment set for 100 & 150mm CMOS processing.
- Bay & chase design.
The RIT Microsystems Initiative
The cleanroom facility is an integral part of the RIT initiative in Microsystems, and has been named the Semiconductor & Microsystems Fabrication Laboratory (SMFL). The SMFL was made a separate entity within the RIT College of Engineering and continues to support the Microelectronics Undergraduate and Graduate programs. The SMFL offers processing resources and technical expertise in the design and development of microsystems to industrial and academic customers.
The SMFL mission encompasses education, research and industrial partnership. In addition to providing faculty and students with exceptional resources for education and research, a principal objective is to become the choice organization for applied solutions in microdevice design, process development, microsystem integration, and prototype fabrication.
SMFL: A Developing NYSTAR Center
On May 3, 2001, Governor George E. Pataki announced the award of $14M for the
IT Collaboratory proposal submitted
to the New York State Office of Science, Technology and Academic Research (NYSTAR)
by RIT, Alfred University, and the State University of NY at Buffalo. A major
portion of this money ($8.3M) has been allocated to an expansion that will be
dedicated to applied research and development work in Microsystems; which includes
integrated microelectronics, MEMS, and photonic devices. The IT Collaboratory
expansion will be connected to the current SMFL Labs and researchers in the
new IT Collaboratory facility will have access to the SMFL.
The IT Collaboratory expansion was opened in the spring of 2006. The first
floor labs support a metrology area, research in Immersion
Lithography (Dr. Bruce Smith) and research into Nanopower
Technology (Dr. Ryne Raffaelle). The SMFL supports the activities of the
researchers in these labs. The offices of the SMFL are also found on the first
floor.
The second floor of the IT collaboratory is home the the research activities
of the Imaging Science Program including Remote Sensing and the Astrophysics
groups.
The third floor of the building is the location of the Analog
Devices Integrated Microsystems Laboratory (ADIML).
More information about the IT Collaboratory can be found at their website
SMFL Fabrication Capabilities
In addition to being a fabrication resource providing process services, the SMFL offers various levels of facility use for research and development activity. Customers have the option of using the facility for its process resources only, or interacting with SMFL staff and/or RIT faculty and students.
|
