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About Us

 

The Australian National Fabrication Facility ACT and WA Nodes are two of eight nodes established by the ANFFL under the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS) to provide researchers and industry with access to state-of-the-art fabrication facilities. 

The eight nodes of the ANFF, which are located across Australia, draw on existing infrastructure and expertise and each offers a specific area of expertise including advanced materials, nano-electronics, photonics and bio-nano applications. Our facilities are based on photonic/electronic materials growth, processing and fabrication of devices including micro electro-mechanical systems (MEMS).

 

We provide a range of capabilities and services for the micro/nanofabrication of photonic and related devices as well as the fabrication of waveguides and photonic crystals. Opto-electronic devices such as semiconductor lasers, photo-detectors and modulators are widely used for communications, data storage and medical applications.

 

Further, photonic crystals, with their ability to confine light and guide and control its propagation, promise an entire suite of ultra-compact optical devices analogous to those of semiconductor electronics. Hence the node is internationally recognised for supporting both state-of-the-art research and proof of concept development for industry.

 

Dedicated, specialist staff are on hand to provide services, training and technical support to users.

 

 

ACT Node

 

Our facilities, hosted within the Department of Electronic Materials Engineering and the Laser Physics Centre, house an array of state-of-the-art equipment that enables research in the development and fabrication of micro/nano-photonic related devices, photonic crystals and waveguides, primarily focused on III-V compound semi-conductor materials.

 

Node flagship equipment and services available include Electron Beam Lithography, Electron Beam Thermal Evaporation, Focused Ion Beam, Inductively Coupled Plasma Etching, Nano Imprint Lithography/Hot Embossing, Plasma-assisted Atomic Layer Deposition, Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapour Deposition, and a Sputter Coater system. We are continuing to extend these capabilities by purchasing additional state-of-the-art small processing equipment enabling further research and development in micro/nano-technology.

 

As well as our ANFF facilities, we also enjoy access to two well-known ANU research groups (the Laser Physics Centre and the Department of Electronic Materials Engineering) and their facilities. These include high energy ion implantation, Si-etching, optical characterisation and three metal organic chemical vapour deposition (MOCVD) reactors for the growth of III-V compound semiconductor multi-layers based on: GaAs, AlGaAs, InGaAs, InP, InGaAsP, InAlGaAs, GaSb, InSb, InGaAsN. These reactors enable the fabrication of nano-wires, quantum dots, quantum wells, strained layers and devices. This capability is unique in Australia.

 

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WA Node

 

The WA Node facility, hosted at the Western Australian Centre for Semiconductor Opto-electronics and Microsystems (WACSOM), is a fully equipped semiconductor fabrication facility that is internationally recognised for supporting both state-of-the-art research and proof of concept development for industry. The WA Node provides expertise in, and access to, state-of-the-art fabrication of optical micro electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) and infrared sensor technology.

 

This capability includes II-VI semiconductor growth by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) and clean room micro/nano fabrication facilities (ICP/RIE, thin film deposition, etching, optical lithography, wire bonding and packaging) for the fabrication of nano/micro electro-mechanical systems. Fabrication of MEMS brings together modified semiconductor fabrication techniques, such as MBE, combined with micro-machining to produce these devices.

 

Applications of the technology include the automotive industry, defence, and communications.

 

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