INEX to upgrade facilities

The UK's University of Newcastle's INEX nanotechnology business arm is to expand its operation.

The facility currently has a 250m² cleanroom with microbiology room. Tooling consists of an EVG submicron photolith suite, e-beam writer, hot embosser, anodic bonder, chemical processing wet decks, deep reactive ion etch (DRIE) for silicon and oxide, thin film metallisation, die preparation and packaging. The Class II microbio room contains bio-atomic force microscopes (AFMs), SEMs, UHV nanoprobe system, wafer probes and the usual metrology and characterisation equipment. The planned expansion will take the cleanroom to 450m²,with a new 150m² microbiology lab suite leading to a total of 600m². The centre's new capabilities will be in surface micromachining (oxides, nitrides, polysilicon), bioengineering (cell culture facilities, protein engineering, tissue engineering, DNA engineering and analysis, potter/arrayer systems), ceramic processing, glass micromachining, RIE, laser ablation, image reversal systems and focused ion beam. There will also be an upgrade to 150mm cassette operation. INEX business manager Rich Carter says: "Our key advantage is that we are open to a wider variety of work than a foundry or larger Microsystems facility. In addition, our bio capability, post-expansion, will be significant in the UK and uniquely, is tied in with the micro/nanofabrication centre so will appeal to bio-hybrid type r&d and product developments. We are specifically targeting the small-to-medium volume user. "Our facilities are comparable to those found in Europe and unlike some of our competitors we offer a full engagement service so our clients don't necessarily need to know about the technology but to simply recognise its potential to help their business – we can do the rest." Director Ken Snowdon adds: "Our fabrication facility expansion plans, combined with our new microbiology labs, will strengthen our position as the leading UK provider of full lifecycle services from concept to volume manufacture particularly for applications in the biomedical and biotechnology sectors." INEX, the business arm of the University of Newcastle's Institute for Nanoscale Science & Technology (INSAT), offers r&d, prototyping/demonstrator, product development and small volume manufacture services. Clients come from the UK, the USA and Europe.