Corporate Partnership Continues to Deliver High-Value Nanomanufacturing Tools at ERC
The University of Texas at Austin’s Nanomanufacturing Systems Center (NASCENT), an NSF-funded Engineering Research Center (ERC), is collaborating with the U.K.-based Emerson & Renwick to bring unique, high-value nanomanufacturing tools to the Center’s Nanodevice Manufacturability Fabrication facility. The equipment can produce high-precision, cost-effective nanoscale patterns on multiple surface types.
The Center’s partnership with Emerson & Renwick facilitates the manufacture of nanometer-scaled patterns on materials that become the basis for making semiconductor devices and other flexible electronics. The Center’s facility consists of a variety of nanofabrication capabilities that aim to make production of these devices less expensive.
The ERC has a partnership with engineering company Emerson & Renwick to jointly develop roll-to-roll (R2R) nanofabrication systems and processes. R2R manufacturing creates electronics on a roll of flexible plastic or metal foil, and is a key process for making products such as Scotch tape and paper towels. Emerson & Renwick upgraded a reactive ion etch tool, which can engrave a variety of inorganic materials and metals, enabling reliable pattern transfer to web-based substrates.
In 2021, the company delivered to the Center a large-area, R2R nanoimprint lithography system and a roll-to-plate tool, capable of producing nanometer-scaled patterns on rigid surfaces, such as solar panels and displays.
