Shared Facilities

FUNCTION:
The facility is devoted to materials processing, crystal growth, device fabrication, and electronic & photonic materials. An extensive list of equipment is available in the Materials Processing and Crystal Growth Facility (MPCGF) of the Materials Research Center (MRC). The facility provides microfabrication tools for general use by the Northwestern community, government and industrial researchers. Various techniques are available for the growth, preparation, and processing of a wide range of single or polycrystalline material in both bulk and thin film form. Assisted use and training of equipment within the MPCGF is available to provide the necessary expertise.

The MPCG cleanroom laboratory has been expanded by the addition of 2000 sq. ft cleanroom complex in Cook Hall which provides microfabrication and thin film processing capabilities. This provides a centralized resource for the deposition of metal, semiconductor and dielectric thin films, photolithography, processing, and metallization. The equipment available can be used for metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD), plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD), molecular beam epitaxy (MBE), physical vapor deposition (PVD) (e-beam and thermal evaporation), controlled doping, and reactive ion etching (RIE). Standard processes have been established along with an expansion of the pre-existing photolithographic capabilities.

Techniques available to the researcher in the MPCGF for materials preparation and crystal growth include Czochralski, Bridgman-Stockbarger, modified Bridgman, floating zone, zone refining, zone leveling, levitation melting, strain anneal, aqueous growth, and arc melting. These techniques can be accomplished in vacuum, or in a variety of other atmospheres depending on the method.

There is also equipment for in-process characterization including Hall effect, 4 point probe, Nomarski microscope, thin film profilometer, thin film analyzer with refractive index analysis and wire bonding tools.