| Posted: October 27, 2009 |
Stimulus funds to pay for equipment at nanotechnology facility at Cornell |
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(Nanowerk News) The Cornell NanoScale Science and Technology Facility (CNF) has received $1.38 million in federal stimulus funds to help with equipment upgrades.
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CNF is one of 14 members of the National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network (NNIN) of user facilities for nanofabrication. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) has allocated $10 million to NNIN to spread over the 14 sites for various needs. CNF's portion is an add-on to its regular National Science Foundation grant of $2.68 million per year.
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"Replacing old equipment is always a real challenge, and it's not something that people get excited about," said Sandip Tiwari, director of NNIN and Cornell's Charles Mellowes Professor in Engineering.
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The grant will cover:
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$850,000 for an advanced high-resolution pattern generator;
$270,000 for a contact mask and bond aligner;
$44,000 for expanded range film thickness measurement system;
$85,000 for an ion implanter computer upgrade; and
$127,000 for an atomic force microscope.
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Tiwari noted that while economic times have challenged every aspect of the university, CNF has done a good job living within its means. He added that CNF maintains $74 million to $100 million worth of equipment. Even if the estimated life span for each piece is 10 years, it is still a sizeable sum to replace each year. The center has reached out to industry partners in the past to help them supplement equipment at CNF.
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"The ARRA support will make things good for a longer period of time," Tiwari said. "It is just a perfect thing for use within NNIN."
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To date, Cornell has received 121 ARRA awards, totaling more than $99.6 million over two years.
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