The UMass Electron Microscopy Center is a part of the Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC) and the Silvio O. Conte National Center for Polymer Research at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. It is equipped with several transmission electron microscopes, scanning electron microscopes and related sample preparation equipment for the use of the UMass community as well as people from outside the University. The mission of the Keck Electron Microscopy Laboratory is to provide access to material characterization equipment, technical support, training and consultation, as well as to perform a range of services for users in the area of electron microscopy. The laboratory capabilities include high-resolution imaging of materials structure, compositional analysis, analysis of crystallographic and electronic structure, etc.

This NU-MRSEC funded facility provides testing equipment for studying the mechanical behavior of materials. We have the capability of conducting tension, compression, fatigue, creep, stress rupture, impact, and 3 or 4-point bend tests. Additional equipment is also available to perform tests in controlled atmospheres, vacuum, and cover the temperature range of 77.2°K to 1773°K.

The computer-interfaced MTS machines can perform static and dynamic mechanical tests that relate an applied force to the elastic, anelastic, and/or plastic deformation of solid materials. The facility also makes available investigation of strain or stress controlled fatigue experiments, fatigue crack initiation studies, fatigue crack propagation studies, cyclic hardening, cyclic softening and cyclic stress-stain curve measurements under computer control.

The Crystal Growth shared experimental facility in CMSE is a unique resource available to users within and outside of MIT community. We have optical floating-zone furnaces, top-seeded growth furnaces, 3-zone tube furnace, box furnaces, arc melting furnace and cutting/polishing equipments to satisfy the needs of crystal growth. Facilities for characterization of crystals include SQUID magnetometers and ICP-AES. The project can be arranged as a contract to work or trained researchers to become qualified facility users.

The Meyer Hall 425 Thin Film Deposition Lab contains a clean room and main area with thin film deposition equipment, fume hoods, and various equipment for optical and electronic characterization of films and devices.

The Materials Preparation and Measurement Laboratory (MPML) provides facilities for preparation, fabrication, processing, patterning and characterization of many types of samples. Instrumentation encompasses scanning probe microscopes (AFM and STM), scanning electron microscopes (SEM), optical lithography and imaging, sample cutting-polishing, surface coating, thermal characterization, optical characterization via steady-state and time-resolved fluorescence, absorbance, reflectance, Raman, and light scattering.

Training and Access

A key aspect of the lab is extensive one-on-one training with experienced PhD-level staff. After extensive training that covers operational procedures and safety training, it is possible for all users, from undergrads, graduate students, and postdocs, to REU summer students and external users of all levels, to operate instruments by themselves. Qualified users are given 24/7 access to the instruments. MPML staff may also provide direct service on an as-needed basis.

Recharge Rates

Recharge recovery is necessary to partially cover service contracts and equipment repairs. Most instruments are recharged based upon hours of use. Evaporators, RIE and Spin Coaters are recharged per use. We have simple flat rates for both internal and external users. However, precious metals (Gold, Platinum, Palladium and etc.) and most consumable supplies should be provided by research groups.

Recharges based on hours of use

Internal Users: $70.00/hr (training and use with assistance); $30/hr (use without assistance)
External Users: $111.30/hr (training and use with assistance); $47.70/hr (use without assistance)

Recharges for Evaporators, RIE and Spin Coater

Internal Users: $70.00 for training; $70/use (with assistance); $30.00/use (without assistance)
External Users: $111.30 for training; $111.30/use (with assistance); $47.70/use (without assistance)

The Utah Nanofab encompasses a class 100/1000/10,000 cleanroom, packaging, and test areas. Commissioned in 2012, the new 18,000 square foot facility provides the specialized custom-built infrastructure, equipment, processes, and expertise necessary for researchers and companies to design, build, and package prototype micro- and nano-scale devices including microfluidic devices. Capabilities include device modeling, design layout, mask fabrication, thin film deposition, patterning, and device packaging including laser microwelding.

The facility and staff serves researchers and companies from the campus and beyond, including faculty and researchers from regional institutions as well as companies who use the facilities to generate proof-of-concept and data supporting new product ideas.

Visionary ideas and inspired creativity have helped the Utah Nanofab become a world leader in the fabrication of neural prosthetics, biomedical microfluidic systems and biosensor chips. The discoveries made in the Nanofab help create life-saving medical devices, faster microchips, and more efficient energy systems, resulting in many scientific publications and new companies. Visit our history page to learn that our roots go all the way back to the fundamental patent on CMOS microelectronic devices.

In response to a pair of proposals from Tony Rollett, the Intel Corporation established in 2007 a parallel computing facility in the Materials Science and Engineering Department whose use is dominated by MRSEC researchers. The parallel facility is particularly useful for the intensive microstructural simulation studies being conducted in the department. This facility is managed by systems engineer Heiskell Rogan and is open to all MSE department and MRSEC researchers. With an upgrade in 2008, the department has added an additional new twenty CPUs, housed in five quad-core blades. The Computer Cluster now has 36 CPUs in total, which permit moderately large scale parallel computation.

The current microfabrication facility contains a contact mask alignment and photoresist exposure system, fume hoods, spin coating station, PDMS mixer and degasser, PDMS bonding equipment (oven, AC oxygen plasma), PDMS hole punch and stereo zoom microscope. The equipment is housed in a 250 sq. ft. class 10,000 clean room. With MRSEC funds we will expand our microfluidic fabrication needs, but we lack work stations dedicated to operating the devices. We are developing a shared facility where users can run chips using either pressure or volume control. The facility will have four stations containing: one advanced microscope, one high-speed camera and two low-resolution video systems. Each station will have a motorized translation stage.

Equipment for evaluating all the important characteristics of polymeric materials is available at the Polymer Characterization Facility. The laboratory is used extensively by the polymer research community, particularly members of CCMR's Interdisciplinary Research Groups and Seed projects and by the Polymers Community at Cornell. The CCMR facilities are run by expert staff who provide training and technical assistance.

The Hill Hall 323 Synthesis Lab has eight fume hoods, two glove boxes, a dynamic vapor sorption measurement system, and a variety of more general laboratory equipment. It is primarily used for ion transport membrane material synthesis and functionalization of silicon nanocrystals.