Krishna P. Singh Center for Nanotechnology

Facility Overview

As part of a major new initiative to expand Penn's excellence in emerging areas of Nanoscale Science and Engineering, the University of Pennsylvania is constructing the Krishna P. Singh Center for Nanotechnology, a premier facility that integrates state-of-the-art nanocharacterization, nanofabrication, and property measurement facilities. 

Designed by Weiss/Manfredi and due to open in Spring 2013, the 78,000 gross square foot Center will house several multi-user experimental facilities critical to advanced research and development in nanotechnology.  The following connected sections comprise the major components of the building:

• A 10,000 square-foot next-generation Cleanroom Facility for micro/nanofabrication including tooling for nanoscale and soft materials integration and a novel nano/bio bay.  This will serve as the new home of the Nanofabrication Facility (NF).
• A 10,000 square-foot advanced underground Nanocharacterization Facility designed for temperature stability and excellent isolation from vibrational, acoustic, and electromagnetic noise.  This will serve as the new home of the Penn Regional Regional Nanotechnology Facility (PRNF) and the Probe Innovation Facility (PIF).
• A Property Measurement Shared Equipment Facility to provide state-of-the-art measurement capabilities in magnetometry, optics, electrical and thermal transport. 
• 18,000 net square feet of space for other shared facilities and general laboratories housed in an adjoining three story structure, a glass-enclosed galleria with views into the cleanroom, conference rooms and a forum for meetings. 

The building will become the home for a large existing suite of high-performance equipment for nanotechnology research. The existing equipment includes electron and scanning probe microscopy, clean room tools, electron beam lithography, and several materials synthesis and characterization instruments. It also includes substantial space for new cutting-edge equipment such as the first aberration-corrected, energy-filtered microscope (ACEM) to be installed in the greater Philadelphia area. 

The multi-user facilities are vital to the research and educational programs at Penn and are leveraged by partner institutions and local industry within the greater Philadelphia area. Unifying these central resources will foster the exchange of scientific ideas and the development of nanoscale science and technology, bring together crosscutting capabilities and the staffing to support these tools, and provide the modern infrastructure necessary to establish a regional center for nanotechnology.