9313529 Hu The University of California at Santa Barbara will use this award to modernize a research facility in order to appropriately house a custom, high-resolution electron beam writing machine. The machine (VS1) was made available to this university by a donation from IBM. It will provide a unique sub-micron lithography tool capable of registration and alignment over large areas, commensurate with a "manufacturing" quality machine. The proper operation of the machine requires precise control of the local environment: temperature and humidity of the ambient must be kept within a limited range. Appropriate vibration isolation of this machine is also essential. The situation of the VS1 will be adjacent to the clean room fabrication area which is an optimal location from the point of view of easy access to and integration with the total device/structure fabrication process. This award will allow the university to ensure that this facility gets optimum use by modernizing the structural, electrical and air handling capabilities required for the operation of the VS1. This facility will form a critical capability of a research effort that already encompasses over 100 graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and faculty in the Departments of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Materials, Physics and Chemistry. This "in house" capability allows the formation of test structures that facilitate rapid prove-in of novel device concepts, but also allows rapid turn-around and adjustment of technology and processes. ***
