Cornell NanoScale Science and Technology Facility

Cornell NanoScale Science and Technology Facility
Name	Cornell NanoScale Science and Technology Facility
Established	2004
Type	Research facility
Location	Ithaca, New York
Affiliation	Cornell University

Cornell NanoScale Science and Technology Facility is a shared-use nanofabrication and characterization center located in Ithaca, New York, operated within Cornell University and integrated with national research infrastructure. The facility provides cleanrooms, instrumentation, and staff expertise to support investigators from academia, government laboratories, and industry, enabling work in nanotechnology, materials science, microelectronics, and quantum devices.

History

The facility traces its origins to Cornell's long-standing programs in engineering and physical sciences linked to Clark Hall (Cornell University), E. M. Statler Hall, and initiatives associated with the National Nanotechnology Initiative and National Science Foundation user facilities. Early investments involved collaborations with DARPA, IBM, and Hewlett-Packard, while faculty from the College of Engineering (Cornell University), School of Applied and Engineering Physics (Cornell University), and the Kavli Institute at Cornell for Nanoscale Science helped shape priorities. Strategic milestones include formal designation as a National Nanotechnology Coordinated Infrastructure node alongside centers such as Stanford Nanofabrication Facility, MIT.nano, and Cornell High Energy Synchrotron Source. Leadership changes over time reflected ties to programs led by scholars affiliated with Bell Labs, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and Argonne National Laboratory.

Facilities and Infrastructure

The physical plant includes cleanroom suites, metrology tools, and cryogenic systems supported by collaborations with institutions like Syracuse University, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and University of Rochester. Major equipment encompasses tools comparable to those used at Sandia National Laboratories, Los Alamos National Laboratory, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory, enabling electron-beam lithography, atomic layer deposition, molecular beam epitaxy, and focused ion beam processing. The center integrates characterization instruments akin to those at Brookhaven National Laboratory and National Institute of Standards and Technology, such as transmission electron microscopes, scanning probe microscopes, and X-ray scattering resources. Support infrastructure includes facility management linked to Cornell IT, environmental controls coordinated with Ithaca-Tompkins County Transportation Council, and safety programs informed by standards from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

Research and Programs

Research activities span nanophotonics, nanoelectronics, quantum information science, and energy materials, with investigators from departments connected to Weill Cornell Medicine, Cornell Law School, and College of Arts and Sciences (Cornell University). Projects involve collaborations with researchers at Harvard University, Princeton University, Yale University, Columbia University, and University of California, Berkeley, as well as national laboratories including Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and National Renewable Energy Laboratory. Representative programs have intersected with initiatives such as the Quantum Information Science and Engineering Network and consortia funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, U.S. Department of Energy, and National Institutes of Health. The facility supports device fabrication for experiments tied to landmark efforts at Bell Labs Prize winners, partnerships reflecting work by faculty associated with Nobel Prize in Physics laureates and recipients of the MacArthur Fellowship.

Education and Outreach

Educational engagement includes training for undergraduates and graduates from Cornell University colleges, visiting scholars from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and summer programs involving students from City College of New York and Rochester Institute of Technology. Outreach efforts reach K–12 through collaborations with organizations such as Boyce Thompson Institute, Sciencenter, and regional school districts coordinated via Tompkins-Seneca-Tioga BOCES. Workshops and short courses draw participants from IEEE, American Physical Society, and Materials Research Society, while internship pathways link to programs at Microsoft Research, Google Research, and Intel Corporation.

Industry Partnerships and Commercialization

The facility plays a role in technology transfer and startup formation tied to Cornell-affiliated companies such as Cornell Research Foundation spinouts, and has supported commercialization efforts related to firms like Intel Corporation, GlobalFoundries, Micron Technology, and Applied Materials. Cooperative research agreements have involved Seagate Technology, Cisco Systems, and Qualcomm while licensing and incubator interactions coordinate with Cornell Tech, eLab (Cornell University), and the Cornell Ann S. Bowers College of Computing and Information Science. The center has enabled prototyping for ventures related to entrepreneurs who participated in accelerators like Techstars and Y Combinator, and partnerships have benefited from engagement with venture capital firms in the New York Angels and Sequoia Capital networks.

Governance and Funding

Governance involves university oversight by administrative units linked to Provost of Cornell University and Vice President for Research (Cornell University), advisory input from external stakeholders including representatives from National Science Foundation, Department of Defense, and corporate partners. Funding streams combine university capital investments, competitively awarded grants from National Science Foundation, cooperative agreements with U.S. Department of Energy, user-fee revenue from academic and industrial users, and philanthropic support from foundations similar to Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation and Simons Foundation. Oversight committees include faculty from departments such as Materials Science and Engineering (Cornell University), Applied and Engineering Physics (Cornell University), and administrators who coordinate with federal reporting entities like Office of Management and Budget.

Category:Nanoelectronics Category:Cornell University