What Cornell Nanoscale Science & Technology Facility does

The Cornell NanoScale Science and Technology Facility (CNF) is a university-affiliated open user facility founded in 1977 and operated within Cornell University's Duffield Hall in Ithaca, NY. CNF provides centralized, fee-based access to advanced micro- and nanoscale fabrication and characterization infrastructure — including a 17,000-square-foot cleanroom equipped with electron beam lithography, materials deposition, dry etching, photolithography, and metrology tools — for scientists and engineers from academia and industry. The facility is staffed by more than 20 scientific and technical experts with nearly 600 years of combined nanofabrication experience, supported by an operations team that includes a Director of Operations (Ron Olson) and a Laboratory Manager (Lynn Rathbun, on staff since 1979).

CNF generates revenue through a hybrid model: (1) base operational funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and a matching grant from New York State, historically accounting for approximately 27% of the operating budget via a now-ended five-year $7.5M NSF NNCI grant; (2) per-hour user fees charged to academic and industry researchers through a structured open user program; (3) Cornell University institutional investment, including a $9.5M commitment from the Duffield College of Engineering in 2026; and (4) educational program fees from the TCN Short Course and related workforce-training offerings. The customer base spans Cornell faculty (a quarter of all engineering faculty rely on CNF), external academic researchers, startup and established companies across semiconductors and quantum, K-12 students via the ATLAS program, and professionals taking the TCN Short Course.

The facility serves as a node in the National Nanotechnology Coordinated Infrastructure (NNCI) network and partners with Fraunhofer IPMS, the NY SMART I-Corridor Tech Hub, and on-campus incubators (PRAXIS, Center for Life Science Ventures) to support commercialization. Since 2016, more than 190 companies — including Pacific Biosciences, Xallent, Gallox Semiconductors, and OWiC Technologies — have used CNF for research and prototyping, with roughly two new startups emerging annually. Alongside its core user program, CNF has developed adjacent offerings such as the Virtual Reality Digital Classroom, the ATLAS workforce program, and the REU undergraduate research program. The facility's near-term operating posture is shaped by the September 2025 expiration of its NSF NNCI grant and the resulting freeze on new equipment purchases, partially offset by the 2026 Cornell institutional investment.

Name

Cornell Nanoscale Science & Technology Facility

Legal name

Cornell NanoScale Science and Technology Facility

Website

https://cnf.cornell.edu

Company type

Private

Founded year

1977

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

CNF is a Cornell University-operated open nanofabrication user facility providing academia and industry shared access to a 17,000 sq ft cleanroom, advanced lithography and characterization tools, and a ~20-person scientific staff, with revenue from NSF/NYS grants, user fees, and institutional funding.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Ithaca

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. NSF and State Government Funding: Approximately 27% of CNF's operation budget comes from NSF support and a matching grant from New York State. A five-year $7.5 million grant through the NSF-supported NNCI network previously provided major funding.
2. Cornell University Investment: $9.5 million investment from Cornell Duffield College of Engineering through the Duffield Launch Fund to support new research capabilities and training initiatives.
3. User Fees: Hourly usage fees for facility access. If NSF funding is not restored, user fees would need to be substantially increased.
4. Educational Programs: Short course fees: Academic/Government Rate June (in-person) $425.00, January (virtual) $120.00; Industrial Rate: June (in-person) $850.00, January (virtual) $120.00.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

CNF operates a 17,000-square-foot open user cleanroom facility providing academia and industry with per-hour access to advanced nanofabrication and nanocharacterization equipment, including electron beam lithography, materials deposition, dry etching, photolithography, and metrology. Users purchase access through a structured user program, with staff providing process and device development support, and the facility also delivers short courses, workforce training, and undergraduate research programs. The facility is part of the NSF-supported National Nanotechnology Coordinated Infrastructure (NNCI) network.

Product overview

Cornell NanoScale Science & Technology Facility (CNF) operates as a flexible open user facility providing centralized access to nanotechnology infrastructure rather than a single unified product. The facility's core offering is the CNF User Program, which grants researchers access to a 17,000-square-foot cleanroom and extensive nanofabrication equipment. Supporting this core service are education and training products including the TCN Short Course (technology and characterization training), ATLAS workforce development program (semiconductor industry training), VR Digital Classroom (virtual reality fabrication training), and REU program (undergraduate research experiences). Together, these offerings enable rapid advancements in science, engineering, and technology at the nanoscale for the national and international research community.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• CNF User Program
• Technology & Characterization at the Nanoscale (TCN) Short Course

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 10-fold return on federal investment per NSF analysis
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• Fraunhofer Institute for Photonic Microsystems (IPMS)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018CNF and Fraunhofer IPMS have partnered to accelerate nanotechnology commercialization. The partners have completed a tool map that allows small companies to plan the growth of their R&D prototyping activities into commercial foundries by developing micro/nanofabrication processes in a planned way that minimizes technology disruptions.
• National Nanotechnology Coordinated Infrastructure (NNCI)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2016CNF is a member of the National Nanotechnology Coordinated Infrastructure (NNCI), a network enabling rapid advancements in science, engineering and technology at the nanoscale by providing efficient access to nanotechnology infrastructure and expertise across the nation.
• Center for Life Science VenturescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCornell's Center for Life Science Ventures, located in Weill Hall on the Cornell campus, has supported Life Sciences startup companies for over 15 years. CNF works with this incubator to support commercialization.
• PRAXIS Center for Venture DevelopmentcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPRAXIS is an incubator supporting startups in Physical Sciences, co-located with CNF in Duffield Hall. The center helps develop young Cornell engineering, digital and physical sciences companies by accelerating R&D and validating business plans.
• NY SMART I-Corridor Tech HubmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe NY SMART I-Corridor Tech Hub is an initiative funded by the U.S. Economic Development Administration and New York State that aims to enhance regional semiconductor manufacturing capabilities. CNF participates in the NY THRIVE voucher program providing access to semiconductor expertise and facilities.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Minnesota Nano Center (University of Minnesota): University of Minnesota's open nanofabrication facility serving academic and industry users, structurally similar to CNF with comparable cleanroom access and process offerings.
• MIT.nano: MIT's advanced nanofabrication facility with state-of-the-art cleanroom and characterization tools serving academic and industry researchers, directly comparable in mission, scale, and user-program structure.
• Stanford Nanofabrication Facility (SNF): Open-access university nanofabrication facility at Stanford offering cleanroom and process services to academic and industry users, operating under a nearly identical open-user-facility model to CNF.
• Birck Nanotechnology Center (Purdue): Purdue's open nanofabrication and characterization facility supporting semiconductor, MEMS, and bio-nano research, comparable to CNF in scope and academic/industry dual-customer focus.
• Harvard Center for Nanoscale Systems (CNS): Harvard's shared nanofabrication and characterization facility providing tools and expertise to researchers, functioning under the same open-user-facility paradigm as CNF.
• Penn State Materials Research Institute Nanofabrication Lab: Penn State's shared nanofabrication facility serving academic and industry users with comparable cleanroom and process offerings to CNF.

Broad incumbents

• NY CREATES (Albany NanoTech): New York State's public-private semiconductor R&D powerhouse located in Albany, providing nanofabrication access with much larger scale and federal funding than CNF, and a natural regional competitor for state and CHIPS Act resources.
• Sandia National Laboratories: U.S. national laboratory with extensive microfabrication and nanofabrication capabilities serving both government and industry partners; broader mission and substantially larger funding base than CNF.

Emerging players

• Argonne National Laboratory (Center for Nanoscale Materials): DOE-operated user facility offering nanofabrication and characterization capabilities to external researchers; comparable user-facility model though operated as a national lab rather than a university facility.

Others

• NIST Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology (CNST): NIST's nanoscale measurement and fabrication facility providing researchers access to advanced nanofabrication and metrology tools; comparable technology stack though government-funded and federally operated.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UC0QNccl76aQC3Lk4EXMAAjQ
• Facebookfacebook.com/CornellCNF
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/school/cornell-nanoscale-science-technology-facility
• Instagraminstagram.com/cornellcnf

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Cornell Nanoscale Science & Technology Facility