MRI: Track #1 Acquisition of Rapid 3D Prototyping Tool for Advanced Semiconductor, Photonic, and Synthetic Systems Microfabrication

About This Grant

Nontechnical Description: Modern technologies that drive the U.S. economy and national security—such as semiconductors, quantum computing, secure communications, biomedical devices, and clean energy systems—depend on the ability to manufacture structures at extremely small scales, yet today’s most powerful fabrication tools can only make flat, two-dimensional patterns, even though many next-generation devices require true three-dimensional structures at the nanoscale. This project will acquire a state-of-the-art 3D nanoprinting instrument for the University of California, Santa Barbara Nanofabrication Facility that uses advanced laser-based printing to rapidly build three-dimensional structures smaller than a thousandth of a human hair without time-consuming and expensive designs, photomasks, and multi-step processing, enabling researchers to test new ideas much faster than is currently possible. The instrument will support research in areas central to the national interest, including semiconductor manufacturing, quantum information science, secure communications, biomedical engineering, and advanced sensing, with applications such as more efficient quantum communication chips, improved medical implants for bone repair, ultra-sensitive detectors for new materials, and technologies that could improve batteries, clean water systems, and medical diagnostics. The project will also train undergraduate students, graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, and community college trainees in advanced manufacturing skills, helping build a diverse and highly skilled workforce for industries critical to U.S. competitiveness, while strengthening partnerships between universities and industry so that new ideas can move more quickly from the lab to real-world impact. By enabling discoveries not possible with existing tools, expanding access to cutting-edge infrastructure, and preparing the future workforce, this project directly supports NSF’s mission to promote scientific progress, advance national prosperity, and strengthen national security. Technical Description: This project will acquire and deploy a maskless two-photon photolithography (2PP) 3D nanoprinting system in the UCSB Nanofabrication Facility, enabling direct-write fabrication of three-dimensional micro- and nanostructures with sub-100 nm resolution, 100 nm alignment accuracy, and rapid write speeds, overcoming the planar limitations of conventional lithography. The instrument will support research in integrated quantum photonics by printing microlenses, mode converters, and beam-steering elements directly on chips and fibers to improve coupling efficiency for quantum light sources and quantum networks; in trapped-ion quantum computing by fabricating three-dimensional electrode geometries with improved trapping strength, optical access, and scalability; in biomaterials and tissue engineering by nanoscale patterning of biocompatible materials and microfluidic devices to study cell and extracellular vesicle interactions for bone repair; in nanofluidics by fabricating precisely controlled nanochannels for studying ion transport relevant to energy storage, desalination, biosensing, and neuromorphic computing; and in scanning magnetometry by creating three-dimensional nanoSQUID structures for high-resolution imaging of quantum materials. The system will be integrated into the existing Nanotech infrastructure serving hundreds of academic and industrial users annually, with professional staff providing installation, maintenance, training, and development of standard fabrication recipes, and access managed through an online scheduling system. It will be embedded into graduate coursework, NSF-supported training programs in quantum information science, and community-college workforce initiatives, providing hands-on experience with advanced manufacturing while enabling rapid prototyping of complex 3D nanoscale devices that will accelerate discovery, strengthen university–industry collaboration, and support U.S. leadership in advanced manufacturing, quantum technology, and biotechnology. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.