Seminars /Workshops / Events / Announcement
Announcement
Winter Recess Announcement:
On behalf of the Birck Leadership Team…….
Dear Birck Research Community,
The Purdue winter recess begins Friday December 23rd and concludes Tuesday morning, January 3. The university is officially closed during this time.
As we have done in past years, the Birck Nanotechnology Center will remain available for research but will be unstaffed and hazardous gasses will be unavailable. Following is a description of the
Birck center during this period of university closure:
1.
All labs and cleanroom will be open.
2.
All hazardous gases will be unavailable.
3.
HF, BOE, and TMAH chemical processing will be allowed as long as a trained buddy is present.
4.
Precursors for ALD systems will be available.
5.
No shipping or receiving is being done at any building on campus.
6.
The custodians will not be working so restrooms will not be maintained and waste/trash will not be removed.
o
We encourage users to keep the facility clean and be extra vigilant about the hygiene.
7.
A few engineering and building staff may walk through occasionally for major issues but availability will be very limited.
o
Faculty and senior researchers are encouraged to be more proactive (e.g. occasional walk throughs checking the labs where there is ongoing research). Email Birck management if you notice anything.
Since there will be limited staff support during this winter recess the research groups are strongly encouraged to accomplish as much processing as possible before gases are turned off on Dec. 22.
See the following for more detailed information (this will be up on the BNC Wiki):
2021-12-23 to 2022-01-03: Reduced Holiday Operations
Due to Purdue’s Winter Recess
hazardous gases will be unavailable from 3:30 PM Thursday, December 22 until 8:00 AM on Tuesday, Jan 3rd. Lab work may otherwise proceed, though any fume hood work must be done with someone else present in the same laboratory or cleanroom
bay (the “buddy” system). Please note the following changes to our normal operation:
o
ALD sources will remain available
§
Unavailable gases:
·
Ammonia (NH3)
·
Boron trichloride (BCl3)
·
Chlorine (Cl2)
·
Dichlorosilane (H2Cl2Si)
·
Hydrogen (H2)
·
Hydrogen Sulfide (H2S)
·
Krypton Fluoride (KrF)
·
Methane (CH4)
·
Nitric Oxide (NO)
·
Silane (SiH4)
·
Trichlorosilane (HCl3Si)
§
Tools affected:
·
Reduced capability:
o
PVD Nitride Sputtering System (NH3 unavailable)
o
Tube 1 Clean Ox (H2 unavailable, dry oxidation only)
o
Tube 4 Field OX (H2 unavailable, dry oxidation only)
o
Tube 7 General Oxidation (H2 unavailable, dry oxidation only)
o
Panasonic (Cl2 and BCl3 unavailable)
o
Plasma-Therm Apex SLR ICP RIE Etcher (H2, Cl2 and BCl3 unavailable)
·
Shutdown:
o
Axic PECVD (NH3 & SiH4 unavailable)
o
Easy Tube 3000 DVD (CH4 unavailable)
o
Epigress (SiH4 unavailable)
o
H2S CVD (H2S & H2 unavailable)
o
Nitric Oxide Anneal (NO unavailable)
o
Plasma-Therm Apex SLR HDPCVD (SiH4 unavailable)
o
Tube 2 Nitride (NH3 and HCl3Si unavailable)
o
Tube 3 LTO (SiH4 unavailable)
o
Tube 6 Polysilicon (SiH4 unavailable)
·
Work with highly dermally toxic materials (25% TMAH, BOE, HF) ABSOLUTELY requires a buddy within eyesight at all times.
·
Custodial staff will not be working.
·
There will be limited restocking of shared use supplies.
·
There will be limited availability of engineering staff to answer questions or repair down equipment.
o
On metallization tools sources will not be changed and depositions must be < 200 nm.
Contact Steve Jurss (sejurss@purdue.edu) with any questions.
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Attention to all sputtering users:
In early June of this year, we removed all access to the sputtering tools in the cleanroom due to lengthy lead times in obtaining replacement parts, as a precaution to help maintain the up-time of the tools. As we have received the appropriate
assortment of parts to perform maintenance on the tools as issues arise, we have decided to start opening up the tools to users once again. Starting Monday, October 31st, the Metal/Dielectric sputter tool only will be once again available for training
and use. Since it’s been almost 5 months since anyone has used the tool, we have changed trained users’ access level to “Preliminary.” When you want to use the tool, make a reservation during business hours (8AM to 5PM, Monday through Friday), and we will
coordinate such that your first deposition will be supervised by a staff member, to act as a refresher training after not using the tool for so long. Then, once it’s deemed appropriate to do so, users’ access will be restored to the normal level. Please contact
Dave Lubelski and Dan Witter for questions and coordinating training and usage, and please check the tool’s wiki page for updated material availability and compatibility. If the desired material isn’t installed, please let us know ahead of time so we can
appropriately prepare the system.
Dan Witter
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Dangerous Chemical Exposure Issue
It has been brought to our attention that user(s) have been working in the cleanroom without proper PPE. This may result in a serious injury!
You are required to wear the listed PPE when using an acid hood.



+ + + +
Required when using HF, BOE
or anything containing TMAH
Failure to follow proper procedures will result in loss of access to facilities!
Stephen Jurss
Birck Safety Manager
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Chemical Use at Birck
Dear All –
We recently had an incident where H2O2 was stored on the BOE shelf in a chemical storage cabinet in the cleanroom. The next user retrieved the H2O2 thinking it was BOE, and got a much different outcome from his etch. So two reminders
to our research community:
A. Please store chemicals in the proper, labeled locations in our chemical storage cabinets.
B. Double-check the labels on chemical bottles prior to using them in your process.
Thanks,
Ron
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Dear Birck Research Community,
Recently we had an air handling situation whereby the heat and humidity in one of our lab wings was elevated due to an air handler being off-line for repair. With the high heat and humidity in the lab wing it was necessary to open doors
to the affected labs to try to promote some level of cooling from the hallway. The air handler issue was fixed within a couple of days and the A/C returned to normal in the labs.
As a reminder, propping doors open is strictly against our policy under all normal conditions. Additionally, entering a lab without swiping in with your own card is also strictly against our policies. We rely on our card-swipe and equipment-use
income to support and fund our operation. Anyone who enters a lab without swiping their card, or who enters a lab using someone else’s card, or who knocks on a lab door and is admitted by someone already in the lab is falsifying use of the lab. This will
lead to disciplinary action up to and including dismissal from the university. Please use your cards responsibly in our research facility.
Birck Management
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Buffered Oxide Etch Concentration Change
We were notified by our BOE supplier, VWR, that they are discontinuing their 6:1 solution but will continue stocking & selling the 5:1 solution. We have two cases left of the 6:1 but will start ordering the 5:1 for future use at Birck.
Please note the etch rate change per this comparison table:

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Safety:
Dear Birck Users,
Birck and Bindley are moving to an ANSI-compliant safety glasses policy in our labs. What this means is that prescription glasses that aren’t ANSI Z87.1 compliant will no longer be allowed for work in Birck labs or the cleanroom. Either
ANSI-compliant safety glasses currently supplied to labs or ANSI-compliant prescription glasses are required to be worn to enter the laboratory. Verbal warnings will be issued to non-compliant users until September 1, 2022 after which more formal action will
be taken.
Stephen Jurss
Birck Safety Manager
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Dear Birck Users:
In an effort to comply with university policy and OSHA regulation Birck is making access to Safety Data Sheets available via QR codes located on the laboratory hoods.
Please be aware we are removing hardcopy binders from various locations throughout the facility. Please note: SDS’s will still be required with all chemical orders.

Stephen Jurss
Birck Safety Manger
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IMAGE CONTEST
2022 Birck Nanotechnology Center
Research Image Contest
The Winners
Sponsored by NSAC and Birck Leadership
1st
Place Winner : Ching-Chien Chen
2nd Place Winner : Amey Luktuke
3rd Place Winner : Akanksha Parmar
Honorable Mentions:
Shabnam Ghotbi
Jinwook Baek



Neil R. Dilley, Ph.D.
Research Scientist
Birck Nanotechnology Center , Rm 1010
1205 West State St.
West Lafayette, IN 47907-2057
765-496-6080
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Job Opening
Rahimi Lab has
RA positions open for ECE students from
Spring 2023. Rahimi lab focuses on interdisciplinary research integrating electrical engineering with biomedical and materials sciences to develop cutting-edge sensors and devices. This position is open for master’s students interested in pursuing a
Ph.D. career in wireless sensor design and implementation for biomedical and healthcare applications. We are looking for students with a strong background in embedded systems, programming languages, and
wireless communication and a fundamental understanding of sensor design and circuit analysis. The students are expected to have hands-on experience in RF/circuit test equipment. Selected students will receive training and guidance in using software
and equipment in the lab.
Minimum Qualifications
Preferred Qualifications

Motivated master’s
students with prior experience in these areas are preferred. If interested, please email Prof. Rahim Rahimi (rrahimi@purdue.edu) with
a brief explanation of your background and prior experience and an attached resume.
Assistant Professor
School of Materials Engineering
Purdue University
Birck Nanotechnology Center BRK 2262
1205 West State Street
West Lafayette, Indiana 47907
Office: BRK 2262
Tel: 765 49-47716
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NSAC
President : Alex Ozbolt (aozbolt@purdue.edu) or
nsac@purdue.edu
NSAC Fab Forum
Tuesday @ 3.30pm
NSAC Coffee Hour
Friday @ 3.30pm
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Birck Nanotechnology Center Advanced Capabilities
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***To post an announcement in the weekly BNC E-news please send to
Sangeeta Abrol @
abrols@purdue.edu***
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