University of Pennsylvania - Singh Center for Nanotechnology

What University of Pennsylvania - Singh Center for Nanotechnology does

The University of Pennsylvania - Singh Center for Nanotechnology is a multi-user research facility located on Penn's campus in Philadelphia, opened in 2013 within a 78,000 gross-square-foot building designed by Weiss/Manfredi and funded in part by a $20 million gift from Dr. Krishna P. Singh. The center operates four core facilities: the Quattrone Nanofabrication Facility (10,000 sq ft cleanroom), the Nanoscale Characterization Facility (10,000 sq ft underground, vibration- and electromagnetically-isolated), the Scanning and Local Probe Facility, and the Property Measurement Facility. It hosts state-of-the-art instrumentation including the first JEOL NEOARM electron microscope installed in North America and a SwissLitho NanoFrazor Explore thermal scanning probe lithography tool. The center is a member of the National Nanotechnology Coordinated Infrastructure (NNCI) network and serves as the Mid-Atlantic Nanotechnology Hub.

The Singh Center operates as a shared-user facility open to academic institutions and industry, generating revenue through user fees (per-tool rates by tier: academic, internal, external, corporate), federal grants (notably $5M from NSF in 2015 and $1.98M in 2019), training program fees (CHIPS Experience: $400–$1,500 per participant), and small seed grants for startups. It serves faculty and students across Penn's 12 schools, regional universities, industrial users, startups (under 50 employees), and pre-college students through REU, NanoDay, and Community College of Philadelphia internship programs. Workforce development is handled by a dedicated Director of Workforce Development, and the Graduate Student Fellows Program has trained 40+ students since 2015, with alumni placed at Apple, Tesla, Google, and Medtronic. Seed grant recipients have subsequently secured over $10M in secondary funding.

The center's strategy emphasizes interdisciplinary collaboration, regional hub status, and workforce pipeline development. Go-to-market is community-led and event-driven, with outreach through annual User Meetings, the Singh Seminar Series, the MAEBL workshop, and equipment-manufacturer-hosted workshops. Access is managed through a self-serve NEMO-CE user portal, and the center publishes protocols and standard operating procedures via Scholarly Commons, which has logged 43,000+ downloads. The center is governed by a Scientific Director (Eric Stach) and an inaugural Managing Director (Gerald G. Lopez) with an External Advisory Board and reports to Penn's School of Engineering and Applied Science.

Name

University of Pennsylvania - Singh Center for Nanotechnology

Legal name

Krishna P. Singh Center for Nanotechnology

Website

https://nano.upenn.edu

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Singh Center for Nanotechnology is a University of Pennsylvania multi-user nanofabrication and characterization facility in Philadelphia, serving academic researchers, regional industry, and startups via four core labs, federal grants, user fees, and workforce development programs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Nanotechnology Research Services

NAICS

Research and Development in Nanotechnology (541713), Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing (334516)

SIC

Laboratory Analytical Instruments (3826), Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

Additive Manufacturing Research & Innovation Labs (IMAAAJAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Quantum Materials, Qubits & Device Physics Research (HDAGAMAA), Quantum Hardware & Lab Operations Training (HDAGALAE), Quantum Education, Workforce Development & Academic Centers (HDAGAMAM), Machine Vision & Optical Sensing (Cameras, 3D vision, LiDAR, illumination) (IMAGAFAB), Micro/Nanoscale & Precision 3D Printers (Two-Photon, Micro-SLA) (IMAAAAAI)

Keywords

• Nanofabrication services
• Nanoscale characterization
• Shared research facilities
• Cleanroom access
• Nanotechnology workforce training

Headquarters

HQ city

Philadelphia

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, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. User Fees and Tool Rates: The center charges user fees for facility access, instruments, staff support, training, and related services. Fees are structured for academic, internal, external, and corporate users with different rate schedules.
2. Federal and State Grant Funding: The center receives significant funding from NSF through the National Nanotechnology Coordinated Infrastructure (NNCI) and other federal grants. Received $5M NSF grant in 2015 to establish Mid-Atlantic Nanotechnology Hub.
3. CHIPS Experience Program Fees: Fee-for-service training program providing hands-on cleanroom and microfluidics experience with pricing for academic and corporate participants.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

The Singh Center for Nanotechnology is a multi-user research facility providing access to advanced nanofabrication and nanoscale characterization equipment through four interconnected core facilities (Quattrone Nanofabrication cleanroom, Nanoscale Characterization, Scanning and Local Probe, and Property Measurement). It offers instrument access, staff-supported training, and workforce development programs to academic and industrial users across the Mid-Atlantic region.

Product overview

The Singh Center for Nanotechnology is a multi-facility research center operated by the University of Pennsylvania. Its core offerings consist of four interconnected facilities: the Quattrone Nanofabrication Facility (cleanroom for micro/nanofabrication), the Nanoscale Characterization Facility (electron microscopy), the Scanning and Local Probe Facility (AFM and probe characterization), and the Property Measurement Facility (magnetometry, optics, transport measurements). Supporting these facilities, the Center offers workforce development programs including the CHIPS Experience Program for semiconductor and microfluidics training, the PINACLE international collaboration program, and the Seed Grant program for startups. Educational offerings span graduate degree programs, the Graduate Student Fellows program, REU summer research, and outreach programs including NanoDay and Community College internships. The center serves academic institutions and industry users across the Mid-Atlantic region.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Quattrone Nanofabrication Facility: 10,000 square-foot cleanroom facility for micro/nanofabrication including soft materials integration and nano/bio bay
• Nanoscale Characterization Facility
• Scanning and Local Probe Facility
• Property Measurement Facility

Products and services

• Quattrone Nanofabrication Facility A 10,000 square-foot next-generation cleanroom for micro/nanofabrication including tooling for nanoscale and soft materials integration and a nano/bio bay. Users access the facility for device fabrication, process development, and prototyping.
• Nanoscale Characterization Facility A 10,000 square-foot advanced underground facility for electron and atomic force microscopy and ion scattering, designed for temperature stability and isolation from vibration and electromagnetic noise.
• Scanning and Local Probe Facility Advanced atomic force microscopy, confocal, and probe characterization capabilities for nanoscale analysis, housed in vibration-isolated underground space.
• Property Measurement Facility State-of-the-art measurement capabilities in magnetometry, optics, electrical and thermal transport for nanoscale materials and device characterization.
• CHIPS Experience Program Cleanroom Hands-on Integrated Process in Semiconductors (CHIPS) Experience Program — an immersive workshop bridging theory and practical application in micro- and nanofabrication for corporate and academic participants, with Semiconductor Track ($500 academic / $1,500 corporate) and Microfluidics Track ($400 academic / $1,200 corporate).
• PINACLE International Program Penn International Nanofabrication and Characterization Learning Experience — workforce development program enabling international collaboration through visiting scholars conducting research at Penn.
• Seed Grant Program Grant awards of up to $3,000 for one year providing access to Singh Center tools and equipment for startups and small businesses (under 50 employees).
• Nanotechnology Masters Degree Program Graduate degree program in nanotechnology offered through the Singh Center for students seeking advanced education in nanofabrication and characterization.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 40 graduate students trained through GSF program with subsequent employment at leading companies (Apple, Tesla, Google, Medtronic)
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Cornell NanoScale Science and Technology Facility (CNF): Cornell University's NNCI member nanofabrication facility with a long history of multi-user operation serving academic and industry researchers; directly comparable as a peer NNCI site.
• MIT.nano: MIT's 200,000 sq ft nanoscale research facility with cleanroom, characterization, and imaging tools — a near-direct analog in scale, mission, and academic-industrial user mix.
• Stanford Nano Shared Facilities (SNSF): Stanford University's multi-user nanofabrication and characterization facility; comparable as a university-hosted nanofab serving academic and industrial users with state-of-the-art equipment in a peer Ivy-plus research environment.
• Caltech - Kavli Nanoscience Institute (KNI): Caltech's nanotechnology user facility with cleanroom and electron microscopy capabilities; comparable as a small, elite university-hosted nanofab serving cutting-edge research.
• Brookhaven National Laboratory - Center for Functional Nanomaterials (CFN): DOE national-lab user facility for nanoscale research, also a node in the NNCI network; comparable as a federally funded multi-user nanofab with similar cleanroom and characterization capabilities.
• Harvard Center for Nanoscale Systems (CNS): Harvard's multi-user nanofabrication facility offering cleanroom, imaging, and soft-lithography capabilities to academic and industry users; closely comparable in scale and service model.
• Georgia Tech - Institute for Electronics and Nanotechnology (IEN): Georgia Tech's NNCI-affiliated nanofabrication and characterization user facility; comparable peer academic nanofab serving regional industry and federal research programs.
• University of Michigan - Lurie Nanofabrication Facility (LNF): University of Michigan's open multi-user nanofabrication facility, an NNCI member with similar semiconductor and MEMS process capabilities serving academic and industrial users.
• NIST Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology (CNST): NIST's national nanofabrication and nanometrology user facility; comparable as a federally operated multi-user lab providing advanced measurement and fabrication capabilities to outside researchers.

Others

• JEOL USA: Manufacturer of electron microscopes including the JEOL NEOARM and F200 installed at the Singh Center; included as an enabling equipment vendor rather than a direct competitor.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/school/singhcenter

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Subsidiaries4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about University of Pennsylvania - Singh Center for Nanotechnology