Academic facilities

Our  Cleanroom is designed and constructed in accordance to FS209E Class 1000 (ISO Class 6), in compliance with all necessary supporting facilities like Building Automation System, Air Scrubber System, Waste Water Treatment System, Compressed Air System, Fire Protection System, Laboratory Fume Cupboard and Process Exhaust System, Security System and dedicated storages spaces. It is a ballroom-type cleanroom with extensive equipment installed for various semiconductor, 2D and 3D nanofabrication, prototype testing and fabrication.

• Electron beam lithography – e-line plus Raith nanofabrication with SEM is the practice of scanning a focused beam of electrons to draw custom shapes on a surface covered with an electron-sensitive film called a resist (exposing). The electron beam changes the solubility of the resist, enabling selective removal of either the exposed or non-exposed regions of the resist by immersing it in a solvent (developing). The purpose, as with photolithography, is to create very small structures in the resist that can subsequently be transferred to the substrate material, often by etching.
• Nanoscribe – 3D laser writer, Singapore’s first 3D lithography system is the 3D Laser Lithography System. Photonic Professional GT, sets new standards in 3D micro printing and maskless lithography. This highest resolution 3D printer enables the rapid fabrication of nano-, micro- and meso -structured with feature sizes starting from about hundred nanometers and heights up to several millimeters with layer thicknesses well below 1 µm with optical quality surfaces.
• Electron beam evaporator – Kurt J Lesker system is a powerful physical vapor deposition process that allows the user to evaporate materials that are difficult or even impossible to process using standard resistive thermal evaporation. Some of these materials include high-temperature materials such as gold and titanium, and some ceramics like silicon dioxide and alumina. To generate an electron beam, an electrical current is applied to a filament which is subjected to a high electric field. This field causes electrons in the filament to escape and accelerate away. The electrons are then focused by magnets to form a beam and are then directed towards a crucible that contains the material of interest. The energy of the electron beam is transferred to the material, which causes it to start evaporating. Many metals, such as aluminum, will melt first and then start evaporating, while ceramics will sublimate. The material vapors then travel out of the crucible and coat the substrate.
• Nano-imprinter – Nanoscience precision pattern tool is a new way of nanopatterning and a revolutionary solution to nanomanufacturing. NIL patterns nanostructures by the physical deformation of a deformable material using a mold. NIL can have sub-5 nm resolution and 1% CD control, and simultaneously achieve high-throughput, sub-10 nm structures and low cost — a feat currently impossible using other existing lithographic methods. The Model NX-2000 is a single wafer nanoimprinter for all forms of imprint (e.g. thermal, photo-curable, and embossing) without alignment.  The tool offers excellent uniformity regardless of the roughness of the backside of the substrate and mold, minimum relative lateral shift between the wafer and mold, very small thermal mass and hence rapid heating and cooling time. Nanonex NIL machines are based on a patented technology, that does not use solid plate(s) to press the wafer and masks. This new technology gives not only excellent uniformity over entire wafer in nanoscale, but also the precise alignment and extremely fast processing time (less than 40 sec for a thermal plastics resists). The new technology also allows a single NIL machine to perform all forms of nanoimprinting, including thermal and photocurable NIL and direct nanoimprinting. NIL resists require very little pressure to press, are fast in response, and have high pattern fidelity and excellent uniformity. The Nanonex tool is available for general use to UMass researchers and authorized UMass industrial partners.
• Mask aligner – EVG610 is a highly flexible R&D system that can handle small substrate pieces and wafers up to 200 mm. The tool supports a variety of standard lithography processes, such as vacuum-, soft-, hard- and proximity exposure mode, as well as other specific applications, including bond alignment, nano imprint lithography (NIL) and micro contact printing. The system offers quick re-tooling with a conversion time of less than one minute, making it ideal for universities, R&D and small-volume production applications.
• Physical vapour deposition –CUBE balzer sputtering mainframe
  • Balzers Unaxis 2 Source Sputtering System with 3 chamber mainframe

We will host monthly events and activities that comprise of

• Cleanroom updates
• Research sharing
• Invited external guests and experts

Our recent activites and events include

• Seminar on “Towards Automation of Quantitative Analysis of Various Digital Images for Material and Process Characterization” by Dr. Woo Sik Yoo
• “Overview of Savannah S200 Atomic Layer Deposition system” by Mr. Sathish Nagarajan, Specialist in Vacuum and Thin film technology, IT Technologies Pvt Ltd, Singapore.
• Seminar on “Atom  Probe Tomography and Applications”  by Dr. Thomas F. Kelly

Email: sethu_tamilselvan@sutd.edu.sg
Telephone: +65 6499 8748 / 6876 4267

Sethu has majored in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from Pondicherry University of India and is interested in the various aspects of Engineering. Keen in updating his technical knowledge, he joined Nanyang Technological University and graduated with a Masters in Precision Engineering in 2011. Sethu is also a Certified Six Sigma Green Belt Professional.

He has 13 years of working experience with various leading semiconductor FAB in Singapore and has built up his expertise as a well-organized engineer in the manufacturing, chemical, semiconductor and process instrumentation industry.

Combining his education background and industry experience, his interests are in the various aspects of Engineering and Research especially in Manufacturing and Process instrumentation.

Email: senthilkumar_sakthivel@sutd.edu.sg
Telephone: +65 6876 4267

Senthil has a Diploma in Electrical and Electronic engineering and more than 10 years’ of experience in semiconductor FAB and engineering facilities. He also has an Advanced Diploma in Semiconductor Manufacturing.

He is responsible for

• Cleanroom facilities control maintenance
• Supporting for the undergraduate course and researchers
• Providing safety cleanroom protocol briefing and training for those who use the cleanroom lab.
• Working on new projects
• Equipment installation hook-up work
• Maintaining Cleanroom user record
• Taking care of PTW and Cleanroom chemical handling.