The privilege of using the Wolf Nanofabrication Facility (WNF) will be lost as a result of failing to act in a responsible manner, follow rules and regulations, and apply common sense.
You are encouraged to make suggestions regarding the facility, the way it is operated, its tools/systems, and its staff.
Clean up after yourself! Leave your work area the way you would like to find it when you come in. Clean the spinners, bench tops, and wash the glassware you used. There should be no liquid drops/puddles in the work area.
Be considerate. Don’t use others’ supplies. Share. If you reserve equipment, show up. If your experiment runs behind and you can’t use the tool, cancel your reservation in advance of your scheduled time.Everyone must contribute to maintaining the lab. The staff is here to help, not clean up after you!
If in doubt, ASK!Do not bring ordinary paper or cardboard into the lab. Only clean room notebooks and cleanroom paper should be used in the Facility.
Pay particular attention to sources of particulate contamination. No pencils/erasers are allowed in the facility.When in the Facility you are busy; limit the amount of time you spend talking on the phone. No portable radios, music players, etc are allowed in the facility.
Only a person who is authorized to use the facility and has received proper training on the tools/system you plan on using may be a buddy. The buddy must be in the facility at all times and you should check on each other frequently.
It is a good idea to identify a buddy prior to planning to work in the facility after hours, on the weekends or during holidays. You may use the mailing list to identify a buddy.In the event of a chemical spill notify Facility staff. If a staff member cannot be reached please call EHRS (215-898-4453) Monday through Friday from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm; outside EHRS’ regular hours call their emergency pager at 215-308-5266 - after the beeps dial your phone number and wait for a return call. If your page is not answered, call the Penn’s Operations Control Center (OCC) at 215-746-6620.
Medical evaluation is required for all chemical exposures. Students should report to Student Health Services in the Penn Tower Hotel (34th St and Civic Center Blvd). Faculty and staff should report to Occupational Medicine located on the 1st floor of the Silverstein Pavilion (34th and Spruce St) in the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. Please see the special procedure related to Hydrofluoric Acid exposure.Guests using the WNF Facility and Penn Faculty, Students, and Staff who have exposures after 5:00 pm should report to the Emergency Room located on the ground floor of the Silverstein Pavilion at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. If in doubt as to what to do, call University Police at 511 for assistance.
If there is a Facility problem, such as a water leak, notify Facility staff. If a staff member cannot be reached contact Engineering Operations at 215-898-5598. Depending on the nature of the situation it may also be appropriate to call EHRS.We cannot develop rules for any possible situation – please use common sense.
Proper gowning consisting of coveralls, booties, hair covers, face covers, gloves, and safety glasses are required at all times in the clean areas of the Facility. Safety glasses, a face shield, and nitrile gloves are required when working at the hood in the test and measurement area.
Safety glasses are available in the gowning area. Be sure to return the glasses as you leave the facility for the next user. Prescription eyeglasses do not provide enough protection. If you wear glasses you have two options: (1) wear the safety glasses provided by the facility over your glasses or (2) purchase safety prescription eyeglasses meeting ANSI standard Z87.1.Contact lenses are permitted in the facility as long as wear safety glasses.
When working at the acid hoods you must also wear a face shield.Face shields must be worn when pouring strong corrosive solutions.
Be sure to wear chemically appropriate gloves for the chemicals/materials you will be handling in the Facility. Latex is only good to prevent fingerprints. Nitrile gloves should be used when working with chemicals. Thick green nitrile gloves should be worn over the regular nitrile gloves when working at the acid hoods or when cleaning chemical spills.Special precautions are required when using hydrofluoric acid and strong oxidizing solutions such as Piranha and Nanostrip.
Throw disposable gloves out when you finish your work or if they become contaminated.Please be courteous to the next user; if you know that you won’t be able to use your reservation, please cancel it as soon as you realize that.
Having the ability to enter the facility does NOT mean that you may use any tools, systems, or chemical hoods found within; you will need to be properly trained and qualified before you can use them.Do not use a piece of equipment that you have not been given authorization to use by its guru or by the facility staff. Using equipment you are not authorized to use, even with the assistance of an authorized user, is strictly forbidden and will result in the suspension of your clean room access.
Once authorized to use a tool please follow the safety and operating procedures for that tool. Those procedures are not meant to be a substitute for common sense. The procedures are available for some tools in the Nanofab wiki; you need your Penn Key for access. If you are not familiar with the Nanofab wiki please contact the facility director.Any problems during tool operation must be immediately brought to the attention of facility staff and tool guru. Do not attempt to repair a malfunctioning piece of equipment.
MSDSs for the chemicals used in the Facility can be found in the white binder placed on the wall between the office and the test and measurement area. Please notify staff if the MSDS you are interested in is missing. The Office of Environmental Health and Radiation Safety maintains MSDSs for all chemicals used at the University. MSDS sheets can be obtained by calling EHRS at 898-4453 or ordered via the EHRS website.
If you wish to bring a new chemical into the Facility, you must supply a MSDS and get approval from Facility personnel. Some solutions are extremely dangerous. Please follow the links below to read more.Before starting work please fill in the log book located at the hood. Provide all the information required.
You are not allowed to work alone outside of regular hours (M-F, 09:00 am to 05:00 pm), on the weekend or during holidays; you must have a buddy. The buddy must print their name below your name in the hood log book.Only a person who is authorized to use the facility, has received proper training, and understands the properties and hazards of the material(s) you plan on using can be a buddy. The buddy must be in the facility at all times and you should check on each other regularly. Plan ahead; identify a buddy before you start work.
While in the Facility you must wear the following personal protective equipment (PPE): shoe covers, coveralls, face mask, hair cover, safety glasses, and nitrile gloves. No sandals, open toe shoes, shorts, and skirts (except when wearing long pants underneath) are allowed in the Facility.While working at the acid hoods you must wear the following additional PPE: disposable apron, face shield (over the safety glasses), and the thick green chemical resistant gloves (over the regular nitrile gloves).
Please also wear additional PPE when handling large quantities of chemicals or when heating any chemical.Always add acid to water and not vice-versa (this reduces splattering). This can be remembered through mnemonics such as: “Always do things as you oughta, add the acid to the water”, or “Acid to water, like A&W Root Beer” or “Put the king into the water, not the water into the king”.
Do NOT move hot plates out of their designated hoods.Using a hot plate in the hood poses a significant fire hazard. The material the hood is made of is very flammable. Do not leave hot plates unattended in the hood; you must be in close proximity while the hot plates are on. Please allow the mixture to cool down to room temperature before pouring it into the appropriate waste container.
Electroplating is to be done only in the hood in the Test and Measurement area of the Facility. The use of any electrical equipment, other than hot plates, somicators, and spinners in the hoods located in the litho area is forbidden. Please contact Facility staff if you MUST use any electrical equipment.Placement of materials in the hood is critical to your safety. Work well inside the hood, at least one foot from the edge. If you work too close to the front edge of the hood you may be exposed to the materials you are handling. Place everything you need in the hood before you start your work
The array of holes at the front of the hood is part of the hood’s ventilation system; please do not block them with paper, clean room wipers, glassware, equipment, etc. The lab ventilation is designed with the hoods always on. Contact Facility staff if your hood is not working.Only use the chemicals for which the hood was designated, e.g. no solvents or bases are allowed in the acid hoods.
The bottles containing chemicals should be uncapped only when pouring out of them. The vented caps of the waste bottles should be removed only when pouring chemical waste. Return those bottles to their secondary containers as soon as possible.Please clean up after yourself. Do not leave beakers, chemical containers, waste containers, spills, towels, stains, etc behind. The hood surfaces should be clean and dry before you start and after you finish your work.
Avoid overcrowding the hoods; please wait until the previous users finish their work. If you believe that your colleagues are not being courteous enough and community minded, please contact Facility staff; do not squeeze your way in.You are also encouraged to talk to your colleagues if you believe they do not work/act professionally; it is everyone’s responsibility to make the Facility a safe and productive working place.
Do not rinse samples over the sinks with anything but water. Please rinse your samples over a large beaker then dispose of its contents into the appropriate waste bottle.
Do NOT leave chemicals in open containers if you plan to use them later; covering the container with aluminum foil is not a safe way to store used chemicals. If you wish to re-use a particular chemical please pour it into a triple rinsed, dry, plastic bottle and label it with the name of the chemical, your name, and the date you started that bottle. Also indicate the fact that the contents of the bottle have already been used and are not to be disposed of. Do not write on the bottle; please use the label maker. Solutions containing hydrogen peroxide may not be re-used!If you need to soak your samples for long periods of time (e.g. overnight) please move the beaker and the marked wiper to a location towards the back of the hood that will not interfere with your colleagues’ work; you may cover the beaker with aluminum foil.
Please dispose of chemicals in the appropriate waste containers when you finish your work. Do NOT pour any chemicals down the drain.All chemical waste containers must be made of plastic and must use pressure relief caps. Triple rinsed containers and pressure relief caps can be found under hood #2 (base hood) and under hood #7 (acid hood).
To avoid spills please use a funnel when pouring the chemical waste into the container. Rinse the funnel after you use it.Do not write on the chemical waste containers.
Only pour chemical wastes into properly labeled waste containers. Please identify the appropriate waste container before you start your work. Pre-printed labels for waste bottles are available in the Facility. If you cannot find a labeled container or a label for the waste stream you plan on generating please contact Facility staff before you start your work; either we have run out of that label or that chemical/mixture is not approved for use in the Facility.A waste container that is less than ¾ filled is referred to as “in-use” waste container. In-use waste containers for solutions containing hydrogen peroxide (Piranha, Nanostrip, and RCA1) should be stored in the secondary containers at the right of the acid hood. Contact Facility staff if you plan to create a mixture containing hydrogen peroxide other than Piranha or RCA1.
Allow Piranha, Nanostrip and RCA1 solutions to cool to room temperature for several hours before disposal; they will melt the plastic waste bottles when hot.
In-use waste containers for acid solutions that DO NOT contain hydrogen peroxide should be stored on the top shelf of the acid cabinet.In-use waste containers for solvents and solvent-based developers should be placed in the secondary containers located under the spinners’ hood (#6) and hood #5. In use waste containers for bases and alkaline developers should be stored in the secondary containers located under hood #4.
A waste container that is more than ¾ filled is considered full. The only pieces of information that should be hand written on the waste label are the date when the waste bottle was started and the date it was filled. Cap the full bottle and place it onto the black waste cart located in lithography room. Leave the full Piranha, Nanostrip, and RCA1 bottles in the secondary containers at the right side of the acid hood; each of those secondary containers can accommodate two one-gallon bottles.As a courtesy to the next user, obtain a triple rinsed empty bottle, attach the appropriate waste label, and write the start date on the label. Cap it with a pressure relief cap and place it in the appropriate location for that particular in-use waste container. If you start a new waste container for Piranha or Nanostrip make sure that it is dry on both the inside and on the outside. Mixing acids, bases, solvents, or even water with Piranha or Nanostrip may cause the mixture to run out of control with disastrous consequences.
After you use all the contents of a bottle please rinse it three times using city water. Hood #5 has a large sink that you may find convenient for this purpose. Use the original cap while rinsing. Affix a “triple rinsed” label on the bottle. One-gallon plastic bottles should be placed under hood #3 or under hood #7 (acid hood) to be later used as waste bottles. All other triple-rinsed and “triple-rinsed”-labeled bottles and the original caps should be placed into the “General Trash” bin located in the litho room.If the bottle contained chlorinated compounds (e.g. methylene chloride) you must wash the bottle with isopropanol first then triple rinse it with city water. Please remember to dispose of the used isopropanol into the appropriate waste container.
Chemical spills greater than 250 ml or any size spill of hydrofluoric acid must be reported to EHRS for cleanup.
Never attempt to clean up a spill if you do not know the hazards associated with the chemical or if you are unsure of how to clean up the spill. Evacuate the facility if necessary.Never clean a chemical spill alone; call the Facility staff or EHRS if you cannot identify anyone to help you.
All chemical spills must be reported. Notify Facility staff first. If a staff member cannot be reached please call EHRS (215-898-4453) Monday through Friday from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm; outside EHRS’ regular hours call their emergency pager at 215-308-5266 - after the beeps dial your phone number and wait for a return call. If your page is not answered, call the Penn’s Operations Control Center (OCC) at 215-746-6620.Always wear thick nitrile gloves, safety goggles, and a face shield when cleaning chemical spills.
Small spills (less than 250 ml) except hydrofluoric acid may be absorbed using the “socks” and pads found in the spill response kit located by by the spin-rinse-drier across from the acid hood. Do NOT dispose of the soaked towels, broken containers, or contaminated tools in the regular waste containers; place all those items in the bag found in the spill kit, label it appropriately, and place it in the hood appropriate for the type of spilled chemical.Use the eyewash, sink or shower as appropriate to wash the chemical(s) from the body.
Medical evaluation is required for all chemical exposures. Students should report to Student Health Services in the Penn Tower Hotel (34th St and Civic Center Blvd). Faculty and staff should report to Occupational Medicine located on the 1st floor of the Silverstein Pavilion (34th and Spruce St) in the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. Please see the special procedure related to HF exposure.Guests using the WNF Facility and Penn Faculty, Students, and Staff who have exposures after 5:00 pm should report to the Emergency Room located on the ground floor of the Silverstein Pavilion at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. If in doubt as to what to do, call University Police at 511 for assistance.
All skin contact with hydrofluoric acid must be reported and treated by a medical professional. Call 511 for help.Some of the pieces of the tools in the lab are very old; they were designed and built when the safety standards were more lax than today.
Do not attempt to modify in any way the tools you find in the lab. Do not remove panels or make changes when the tool is plugged in.Do not operate the tool without its protective shields; for example do not operate the MRC sputterer without the two RF shields placed on its upper half. Also place the cylindrical shield over the evaporator dome before you start the pump down procedure.
Some tools use lasers; please do not operate tools with covers/enclosures removed and avoid looking directly into the laser beam.Do not enter the Facility if the gas alarm on the left side of the entrance door sounds.
Please notify Facility staff of any alarms which occur after hours.Evacuate the building if the fire alarm sounds. Do not remove your personal protective equipment; just walk out. Meet everyone else in front of the Skirkanich building.
If you do not follow Facility procedures, you will receive a warning. Your advisor will be notified on the second infraction. If you continue to ignore the Facility rules for a third time, your access to the Facility will be suspended. Depending on the severity of your infractions your access to the Facility may or may be not reinstated.
Remember to ask for help when in doubt.
Happy micro/nano-fabrication!