[MANA E-BULLETIN Vol.6 - Feature] Advanced nano-fabrication technology catalyzing discovery and innovation at MANA

Facilities for lithography and nanofabrication were established at NIMS in 2004 under the leadership of Masakazu Aono, the Director the International Center for Materials Nanoarchitectonics (WPI-MANA) at NIMS from 2007 to 2017. The facilities became a part of WPI-MANA in 2009 and are now referred to as the Namiki Foundry. “Researchers at NIMS and WPI-MANA are experts in materials science but few have experience of lithography and device fabrication,” says Toshihide Nabatame, Manager of the Namiki Foundry (former MANA Foundry). “So our role is to work with scientists in supporting their research on device fabrication.”
The Namiki Foundry has eight cleanroom areas in its 235m2 floor space. The areas are drawing and photo lithography; wet process; etching; film deposition; nano measurement; nano analysis; heat treatment and dicing and wiring . The Namiki Foundry staff prepare samples for structural observation by SEM, produce devices by electron beam lithography for nano-gap electrode patterning for complicated structures such as nano wires and nano sheets. Notably, they handle any kind of material including organic, inorganic, metals, insulators, magnetic, superconductors and composites.