Our Cleanrooms

2D material preparation and handling

The 2D material handling and transfer facilities offer tools for isolating and transferring 2D materials under clean, controlled environments.

Capabilities include:

• General exfoliation
• Flake transfer rigs
• Inert atmosphere gloveboxes
• Ultra-high vacuum systems, ideal for sensitive material processing.

These resources support both academic research and industrial research and development in nanomaterials, enabling precise, contamination-free workflows.

Characterisation

The characterisation tools offer a comprehensive suite for analysing 2D materials and nanostructures.

Tools include:

• Optical microscopy
• Scanning electron microscopy (SEM)
• Atomic force microscopy (AFM)
• Raman spectroscopy
• X-ray diffraction​
• Imaging spectroscopic ellipsometry.

These tools enable detailed imaging, surface profiling, and material identification. Designed for both research and industrial applications, providing critical insight into material properties at the nanoscale, supporting quality control, device fabrication and fundamental studies.

Deposition

The deposition equipment includes high-spec systems for thin-film growth and material coating, supporting precision engineering of 2D and nanomaterials.

Key technologies include:

• Plasma enhanced chemical vapour deposition (PECVD)
• Atomic layer deposition (ALD)
• Electron-beam and thermal evaporation
• Magnetron sputtering.

These tools enable tailored layer-by-layer construction and advanced heterostructure fabrication, essential for next-generation electronics, optoelectronics, and sensing platforms.

Electron-beam lithography (EBL) and focused-ion-beam (FIB)

This facility features high-performance systems for advanced nanoscale patterning and imaging. The setup includes:​

• A range of scanning electron microscope (SEM)-based nanolithography systems
• A dedicated imaging SEM with energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDS)
• A 100 kV dedicated EBL system for high-resolution large-area patterning
• A gallium focused ion beam system (FIB-SEM) for precise, site-specific milling, nanofabrication and sample preparation and analysis.

Wet chemistry

This area provides a dedicated space for chemical processing, offering a suite of surface treatment and cleaning protocols.

Capabilities include:

• Automated wet benches for reproducible sample preparation with RCA standard cleans 1 and 2
• Acid Piranha etch, Hydrofluoric (HF) acid etching in both liquid and vapour forms
• A variety of metal etchants, and KOH silicon etchant

These advanced processes ensure meticulous etching and cleaning essential for high-performance device fabrication.

Plasma etching

The suite provides advanced platforms for precise material removal and pattern transfer.

Capabilities include:

• High-performance reactive ion etching (RIE) systems
• Deep reactive ion etching (DRIE) capabilities
• Specialised tools for plasma and ion milling processes

These facilities enable fine-tuned etching of a range of materials, ensuring high resolution and selectivity critical for device fabrication.