History of the Keck Microfabrication Facility

Founded in 1994 as one of the first NSF Materials Research Science and Engineering Centers, the Center for Sensor Materials embodies interdisciplinary materials research with emphasis on sensing applications. The CSM shares its four major facilities with campus users and with a national network of 24 MRSEC's, extending its research capabilities throughout academia and the industrial sector.

Under the aegis of the National Science Foundation, the CSM Microfabrication Facility was opened to users in 1996. The 1200 square foot facility consists of a Class 1000 cleanroom for photolithography; a room dedicated to electron beam lithography, and an area for sample preparation, metalization, and processing. The Microfabrication Facility exists as a unique research and training environment on the Michigan State University campus, bring together students, faculty, and industrial scientists. In 1998, the facility was named the W. M. Keck Microfabrication Facility in recognition of the support of the W. M. Keck Foundation. The facility was located on the basement level, Room 36, Physics and Astronomy Building, Michigan State University, East Lansing.

Recognizing its importance, Michigan State University has constructed a new home for the facility. In October 2002, the facility moved to its current location (B142, BPS Building) inside the new Bio-Physical Science Building on MSU campus. The new facility have more than three times the space of the old facility. It features a Class 100 cleanroom for photoresist preparation and photolithography, three bays for scanning electron microscopy and electron beam lithography, and a vastly increased space for installing the needed vacuum systems for thin film preparations and characterization. The new facility is also located at the center of academic buildings on MSU campus, therefore is more easily accessible.

Floor layout of the new facility