New nanotech r&d facilities

Published: 30-May-2011

A complex of exceptional cleanrooms is now available for scientists, students and research partners following the recent investment by the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, EPFL. Laure-Anne Pessina reports from Switzerland

A complex of exceptional cleanrooms is now available for scientists, students and research partners following the recent investment by the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, EPFL, reports Laure-Anne Pessina.

EPFL has shown that it aims to position itself among the world’s top science and technology institutes. At a time when the rise of micro- and nano-technology is strongly influencing the traditional engineering disciplines, the Lausanne-based Institute has invested CHF14.4m (€11.6m) to renovate and transform its micro-engineering building.

Inaugurated last month, the building can now meet the needs of new professors who have been recently recruited to the Engineering School (STI), as well as all scientists who are using the latest nanofabrication techniques. It houses a new complex of cleanrooms, new faculty offices and 12 new laboratories in which research runs the gamut – from measuring the mechanical properties of nanotubes or the dynamics of fluids, to studying optical neuron networks.

EPFL is located in Lausanne in Switzerland, on the shores of Lake Geneva and is one of two Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology. With the status of a national school since 1969, the engineering faculty has grown in many dimensions, to the extent of becoming one of the most famous European institutions of science and technology.

Like its sister institution in Zurich, ETHZ, it has three core missions: training, research and technology transfer. EPFL encourages its most talented scientists and students to be in close contact with leading industries. The aim is to stimulate innovation through start-ups, collaborations with SMEs and partnerships with international firms.

In addition to the micro-engineering building on the Lausanne campus, EPFL has other sites dedicated to nanotechnology: the Interdisciplinary Center of Electron Microscopy (CIME), and the Comlab in Neuchâtel, which is part of the Swiss Center for Electronics and Microtechnology (CSEM). For technical and historical reasons, however, the micro-engineering building in Lausanne was the one chosen to undergo these upgrades and renovations.

The BM building has always housed several laboratories working in the micro- and nano-systems fields, with biomedical applications. But more important, it is home to the Center for MicroNano-Technology (CMI), a complex of world-class cleanrooms that has been continuously developed and adapted to the needs of scientists over the years.

Recently, demand for the existing cleanroom frequently exceeded availability, due to a growing number of users. Much of the renovation work was thus spent developing an extension to the CMI: the CMI+ is a new complex of five low-level cleanrooms (three modules 10 times less “clean” and two modules 100 times less “clean” than the top level cleanroom). The two units, CMI and CMI+, are closely associated, and are even physically connected by an elevator.

Rapid prototyping

“Low level cleanrooms allow us to take the initial steps needed for getting a given technology up and running, before complete development in the top level cleanroom,” explains Philippe Flückiger, CMI’s director of operations.

“Some techniques don’t need the highest level of filtration,” he continues. “The new rooms also meet the needs of Life Sciences and Basic Sciences researchers who want to carry out rapid prototyping.” The presence of the new rooms and equipment should reduce the pressure on the existing cleanroom complex situated on the floor below.

The contractor for the build was Losinger Construction AG, which has offices in Lausanne and throughout Switzerland.

EPFL looks for collaborations with SMEs and partnerships with international firms<br>Image source: Alain Herzog

EPFL looks for collaborations with SMEs and partnerships with international firms
Image source: Alain Herzog

Open 24/7

The BM building was inaugurated by EPFL president Patrick Aebischer and the dean of STI, Demetri Psaltis. The new low-level cleanrooms have many advantages. For example, they are easier to access than the existing CMI cleanroom, there is less training time required, they also cost users nearly four times less and, progressively, will be open 24/7.

Scientists, students and research partners will thus have more freedom, but also less on-site assistance. And although the top-level cleanroom is dedicated to processes associated with micro-engineering, micro-mechanical systems (MEMS) and nanofabrication, the CMI+ complex opens up the possibility of exploring other, non-traditional processes.

“In the top-level cleanroom fume hoods, for example, we use standard micro-engineering products such as fluorhydric acid and sulphuric acid,” explains Flückiger. “The CMI+ will allow us to work with smaller quantities and a wider variety of products.”

This is good news for CMI users – PhD students, professors (teaching lab classes) and industrial collaborators. Furthermore, says Flückiger, “this set of infrastructure is unique in Switzerland.”

You may also like