NanoFAB.SDSU

What NanoFAB.SDSU does

NanoFab.SDSU is a university-based micro and nanofabrication center operated as an industrial consortium and research facility within San Diego State University's EIS building in San Diego, California. The center operates a 2,500 sq. ft. ISO 9001-certified Class 1000 Cleanroom with 4" and 6" wafer processing capability and 0.2 micron lithography feature sizes, supported by equipment including ABM mask alignment, Technics Series 85 DRIE plasma etcher, Nordiko metal deposition (co-deposition of up to four metals), PECVD and pyrolysis furnaces, ETS-150 thermal evaporation and sputtering, SEM, Hirox 3D microscope, Filmetrics profilometer, Signatone probe station, and Newport solar simulator.

The center offers six core service categories: lithography, etching (DRIE and acid wet), thin-film deposition (Au, Pt, Cr, Ti, Ni, Cu), CVD/PECVD processing (including graphene, glassy carbon, and carbon nanotube growth), thermal processing (oxide growth, pyrolysis), and characterization/metrology. It claims to be first to introduce single and double-sided pattern transfer technology for carbon microelectrodes on polymer substrates and holds patents and disclosures in MEMS IMU, organic solar cells, neural probes, and graphene processes.

Revenue is generated through an industrial consortium membership model (annual subscription with reduced rates, IP protection, and licensing opportunities) and fee-for-service fabrication and characterization work for universities and government labs. The customer base spans medical-device and materials start-ups (TumorGen MDx, TissueNetix, Grapheton), academic institutions (University of Washington CSNE, UT Dallas, University of Ferrara, University of Indonesia, Yonezawa University), and government customers (PTB Braunschweig, SPAWAR SSC-Pacific US Navy), with international research reach across the US, Germany, Italy, Japan, and Indonesia. The center is led by Professor Sam Kassegne, who also serves as Deputy Director of the NSF Center for Sensorimotor Neural Engineering, and is funded by NSF, DoE, DoD, and industry partners.

Name

NanoFAB.SDSU

Legal name

NanoFab.SDSU

Website

https://nanofab.sdsu.edu

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

NanoFab.SDSU is a San Diego State University micro and nanofabrication center that operates a 2,500 sq. ft. ISO 9001-certified Class 1000 Cleanroom, serving industry consortium members and academic researchers through fabrication, deposition, etching, and characterization services for 4" and 6" wafers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Nanofabrication Services

NAICS

Research and Development in Nanotechnology (541713)

SIC

Semiconductors & Related Devices (3674)

akta.pro primary industry

Foundry Platform & Design Enablement Services (PDK/DFM/Process Qualification) (HDAHACAJ)

Keywords

• Microfabrication services
• Nanofabrication cleanroom
• Wafer processing services
• Thin film deposition
• Lithography services

Headquarters

HQ city

San Diego

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Industrial Consortium Membership: Membership-based access model providing industry partners with reduced rates for facility usage, direct access to trained students, interaction with leading researchers, state-of-the-art equipment access, IP protection, and opportunity to license IP from consortium labs.
2. Research Services: Fee-for-service fabrication and characterization services provided to research institutions including universities and government labs

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

NanoFab.SDSU is a Micro and Nanofabrication Center that provides fee-for-service fabrication and characterization through a 2,500 sq. ft. ISO 9001-certified Class 1000 Cleanroom supporting 4" and 6" wafer processing at 0.2 micron lithography feature sizes. It offers lithography, etching, thin-film deposition, CVD/PECVD, thermal processing, and metrology services to industry consortium members and research institutions, while training undergraduate, master's, and doctoral students in nanotechnology.

Product overview

NanoFab.SDSU is a university-based micro and nanofabrication center providing comprehensive fabrication and characterization services through a 2500 sq. ft. ISO 9001-certified Class 1000 Cleanroom. The facility offers six interconnected service areas: Lithography Services (ABM mask alignment system with 0.2 micron resolution), Etching Services (DRIE and wet etching), Thin-Film Deposition Services (thermal evaporation, sputtering, and co-deposition of multiple metals), CVD/PECVD Processing Services (dielectrics, graphene, carbon nanotubes, glassy carbon), Thermal Processing Services (oxide growth, pyrolysis), and Characterization Services (SEM, 3D microscopy, profilometry, electrical testing). The center supports both industry consortium members and academic research institutions with equipment access and fabrication services for 4" and 6" wafers.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Lithography Services High-resolution mask alignment and UV exposure lithography services achieving 0.2 micron feature sizes on 4" and 6" wafers using the ABM mask alignment system and OAI UV light source with a Brewer spin-coater for photoresist application. Used by industry clients and research institutions requiring precise pattern definition.
• Etching Services Dry and wet etching capabilities including deep reactive ion etching (DRIE) using the Technics Series 85 plasma etcher and acid wet etching for pattern transfer on silicon, carbon, and polymer substrates. Used for MEMS device fabrication and microelectrode patterning.
• Thin-Film Deposition Services Comprehensive metal deposition including thermal evaporation and sputtering using the Nordiko system (enabling co-deposition of up to 4 metals) and ETS-150 system, supporting deposition of Au, Pt, Cr, Ti, Ni, and Cu thin films for electrodes, interconnects, and contacts.
• CVD/PECVD Processing Services Chemical vapor deposition and plasma-enhanced CVD for dielectric materials using a PECVD and pyrolysis split-tube furnace with vacuum capabilities, including graphene, glassy carbon, and carbon nanotube growth for advanced materials and device research.
• Thermal Processing Services High-temperature thermal processing including wet and dry oxide growth, pyrolysis, and thermal treatments using split-tube furnaces and high-temperature ovens for wafer processing and material synthesis.
• Characterization and Metrology Services Comprehensive characterization including scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Hirox 3D microscopy, Filmetrics F40-PAR profilometry, Signatone probe station with 4-point probe for electrical measurements, and Newport solar simulator with Oriel I-V station for photovoltaic testing.
• Cleanroom Facility Access (Industrial Consortium Membership) Membership-based access to the 2,500 sq. ft. ISO 9001-certified Class 1000 Cleanroom with 4" and 6" wafer processing capability, providing industry consortium members with reduced rates, direct access to trained students, interaction with leading researchers, IP protection, and licensing opportunities.

Quantifiable outcome

• Incubated start-ups and licensed variety of technology
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Edgetech Industries LLCminorOthersListed as an industrial partner providing equipment or services to the consortium.
• NSF Center for Sensorimotor Neural EngineeringcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDeputy Director Sam Kassegne serves as Deputy Director of the NSF Center for Sensorimotor Neural Engineering, indicating a strategic alignment and collaboration between the two NSF-funded centers.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Stanford Nanofabrication Facility (SNF): Stanford's shared university nanofab providing member-based cleanroom access for 4–6" wafer processing, lithography, deposition, and characterization. Operates a comparable user-fee/industrial membership model on a larger footprint.
• Georgia Tech Institute for Electronics and Nanotechnology (IEN): Georgia Tech's shared cleanroom and nanofabrication user facility offering lithography, deposition, etching, and characterization to academic and industrial members with NSF-supported infrastructure — directly comparable in scale and service mix.
• Rogue Valley Microdevices: Independent MEMS and microfab foundry providing wafer-level prototyping and production for microfluidics, biomedical, and sensor customers — comparable service offering for the same startup and research customer base.
• UCSB Nanofabrication Facility: University of California Santa Barbara nanofab providing fee-for-service wafer processing and cleanroom access to industry and academic users, with similar 4–6" wafer capabilities and federal/industry funding base.
• Innovative Micro Technology (IMT): Commercial MEMS and microfab foundry offering wafer-level fabrication, packaging, and integration services for microfluidics, sensors, and biomedical devices — comparable in customer end-markets and process capabilities, though commercial rather than academic.
• MIT Microsystems Technology Laboratories (MTL): MIT's shared nanofabrication facility offering lithography, deposition, etching, and characterization services to MIT researchers and industrial sponsors — comparable consortium-style access model with strong MEMS and device prototyping focus.
• Berkeley Marvell Nanofabrication Laboratory: UC Berkeley's open nanofab serving academic and industry users with lithography, etch, deposition, and metrology tools under a recharge model — direct overlap in process capabilities and customer base.
• Purdue Birck Nanotechnology Center: Purdue's open nanofabrication center providing lithography, deposition, etching, and characterization tools to academic and industrial users, with similar focus on MEMS, microfluidics, and novel materials processing.
• Cornell NanoScale Science and Technology Facility (CNF): Cornell's open-access micro/nanofabrication user facility offering lithography, etching, deposition, and characterization to academic and industrial users under a membership/recharge model — directly comparable in services and customer mix.
• Penn State Nanofabrication Lab (Singh Center): Penn State's shared nanofabrication facility offering lithography, deposition, etching, and characterization to industry and academic researchers through a user-fee model — directly comparable in services and customer profile.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/nanofab-sdsu

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about NanoFAB.SDSU