The International Institute of Information Technology, Hyderabad (IIIT Hyderabad) has inaugurated a new microfabrication laboratory, titled the “FabLab”, at its campus. The facility was inaugurated by Prof P J Narayanan, Director, IIIT Hyderabad.
The laboratory has been established with support from the Department of Science and Technology (DST) under the Promotion of University Research and Scientific Excellence (PURSE) scheme. The FabLab will support the development of biosensors and bio-actuators specifically for healthcare-related applications.
The lab includes microfabrication tools such as UV lithography, sputtering equipment, a spin coater, and a vacuum chamber. It also houses material characterisation tools, including a Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS), and an optical profilometer.
In addition to these, the facility is equipped with semiconductor integrated circuit (IC) characterisation tools such as a probe station, Vector Network Analyzer (VNA), Vector Signal Generator (VSG), signal analyser, and oscilloscope. These tools enable measurements in the millimetre wave (mmWave) frequency band.
Dr Aftab Hussain, Coordinator for the PURSE grant at IIIT Hyderabad, said, “We are very excited to have this state-of-the-art facility at IIITH. This will be a major boost for material science and VLSI research in IIITH and will provide a platform for external users in the region to have access to specialised tools. Given that Government of India has recognised indigenous semiconductor chip fabrication as an important step towards reducing dependence on imports, one of the objectives of this facility is to train skilled manpower in the domain of semiconductor fabrication and characterisation. With the inauguration of this lab, we are now looking forward to conducting courses and workshops to that end.”