Materials science and engineering
4D LABS works with academic and industrial researchers to move new technologies from the benchtop to the marketplace in a range of fields, including clean energy, information technology, health and medicine and telecommunications. Aside from a range of materials-specific academic laboratories, 4D LABS also hosts three user facilities that are accessible to all researchers in academia, industry and government. These three user facilities include a clean room for microfabrication and nanofabrication, an electron microscopy centre and an advanced laser laboratory. Together, the user facilities are a means to design, build and fully characterize new materials and devices all under one roof. There are a variety of ways to work with 4D LABS. Researchers may elect to be fully trained and perform all aspects of their device design, building and testing it themselves, or may contract 4D LABS to do some or all of the work for them or may collaborate with a 4D LABS faculty member. To date, 4D LABS has worked across the full range of industrial sectors in a variety of ways. 4D LABS has partnered to develop high-efficiency solar cells, leading-edge lighting, nanomaterials for security features, biofluidics and a myriad of other devices.
Additive technologies, proof of concept/proof of commercial concept, product enhancement/transformational technologies, Modelling, Simulation, Prototyping, manufacturing design and development, analytics, photonics, Information and telecommunications technologies, industrial instrumentation, alpha and beta testing, characterization, failure analysis, materials testing
- Aerospace and satellites
- Chemical industries
- Clean technology
- Education
- Energy (renewable and fossil)
- Environmental technologies and related services
- Forestry and forest-based industries
- Life sciences, pharmaceuticals and medical equipment
- Manufacturing and processing
- Mining, minerals and metals
- Professional and technical services (including legal services, architecture, engineering)
Specialized Labs and Equipment
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Specialized facility |
Equipment |
Function |
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Fabrication and Prototyping Facility |
Low-pressure and atmospheric furnaces, PECVD, PVD, ALD, electroplating, and spray coating |
Various thin-film deposition equipment |
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Electron-beam writer, laser writer, mask-making laser writer,contact/proximity aligners, spinners, develop stations, wafer bonder, and a nanoimprinter |
Pattern fabrication and replication equipment working with a range of resist, including SU-8 and PDMS patterning capability |
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Full range of wet-etch and cleaning chemistries |
Wet etches available for metal, oxide, and silicon wet etching; cleaning chemistries available for substrate and pre-deposition cleans |
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Deep reactive ion etch (DRIE), reactive ion etch (RIE) capability, standard plasma strip and descum systems in addition to XeF2 for MEMS silicon release |
Dielectric (fluorine-based) and metal (chlorine-based) dry-etch chemistries |
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Ellipsometry, reflectometry, profilometry, stress measurement, four-point probe, contact angle goniometer, microscopes |
Thin film measurement and characterization |
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Laser machining, wafer cutting, rapid thermal processing, critical point dryer, probe station, wire bonder |
Various packaging and ancillary tooling |
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Materials and Device Testing Facility |
Helios Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) |
Uses an electron beam to image samples and determine elemental composition (EDX) spectroscopy. Cryo and low vacuum capabilities enable a variety of materials to be analyzed. |
| Nova NanoSEM (Scanning Electron Microscope) | Uses an electron beam to image samples and determine elemental composition (EDX) spectroscopy. Cryo and low vacuum capabilities enable a variety of materials to be analyzed. | |
| Explorer Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) | Uses an electron beam to image samples and determine elemental composition (EDX) spectroscopy. Cryo and low vacuum capabilities enable a variety of materials to be analyzed. | |
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Tecnai F20 (200 keV FEG) |
Scanning transmission electron microscope (STEM). Investigate internal structure, including crystallinity and defects with compositional analysis (EDX). |
| Osiris (200 keV X-FEG) | Scanning transmission electron microscope (STEM). Investigate internal structure, including crystallinity and defects with compositional analysis (EDX). | |
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Atomic force microscope (AFM) |
Scanning probe microscope (SPM). Creates atomic-resolution topographic maps of material surfaces that may include electronic properties and can be used to manipulate atoms or molecules. |
| Scanning tunnelling microscope (STM) | Scanning probe microscope (SPM). Creates atomic-resolution topographic maps of material surfaces that may include electronic properties and can be used to manipulate atoms or molecules. | |
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Focused ion beam (FIB) in tandem with SEM |
Used for cross-sectioning or fabricating small devices |
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X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), auger spectroscopy and secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS), and Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectroscopy (ICPMS) |
Advanced spectrometry for compositional analysis |
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X-ray diffractometry (XRD), small angle x-ray scattering (SAXS), mercury porosimetry, fuel cell testers |
Tools for characterizing the structure of materials and functioning of devices |
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Laboratory for Advanced Spectroscopy and Imaging Research (LASIR) |
Pulsed laser systems, spanning X-ray to infrared wavelengths, from nanosecond- to femtosecond-pulse durations |
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Time-resolved X-ray spectroscopy |
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Terahertz spectroscopy |
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Two-photon laser scanning confocal microscope for advanced imaging |
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Transient absorption spectroscopy |
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Fluorescence lifetime measurement systems capable of probing time scales from milliseconds to femtoseconds |
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Private and Public Sector Research Partners
- Cooledge Lighting Inc.
- Photon Control Inc.
- Automotive Fuel Cell Cooperative
- Nanotech Security Corp.
Additional Information
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Title |
URL |
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Helping hub |
www.innovation.ca/en/ResearchInAction/ImpactStory/helpinghub |