Nanotechnology – or engineering on a molecular scale – has the capacity to transform many sectors of our economy, including manufacturing, healthcare, electronics, communica
tions and energy.
The $41 million the Australian Government is committing, through the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS), will build on existing infrastructure to help establish a comprehensive fabrication capability for the nation’s fast emerging nanotechnology industry.
Co-investing with the Australian Government to establish the Australian National Fabrication Facility (ANFF) will be several state governments, the CSIRO and a number of universities and industry partners.
The ANFF will be headquartered in Melbourne and comprise seven integrated nodes around Australia each offering specialist fabrication services, including rapid prototyping of nano- and micro-devices. The facility will support the work of around 125 research groups nationwide and provide vital R&D services to industry.
The investment provides new fabrication equipment and clean-room environments vital to nanoscience, while researchers across Australia will also gain open access, on a merit basis, to existing facilities worth approximately $130 million.
We will be able to provide the resources to allow micro- and nano-fabrication researchers from all around Australia to work together for the first time, sharing expertise and laboratory resources to develop new technologies with high commercial impact for the benefit of all Australians. As nano-fabrication involves manufacturing on scales approaching a billionth of a metre, the investment in an advanced new fabrication tool set is vital. Nanostructures have technologically important new properties in areas as diverse as electronics, information technology, medical devices and advanced coatings such as sunscreens.
Professor Andrew Dzurak, New South Wales Node Director, Australian National Fabrication Facility
The seven nodes of the Australian National Fabrication Facility are as follows:
The Victorian node, to be known as the Melbourne Centre for Nanotechnology (MCN), will be a joint venture between the Victorian Government, five Melbourne-based universities, CSIRO and Minifab – a leading polymer micro-fabrication company. The MCN will be a state-of-the-art facility and offer a wide range of services required for fabricating sensors, devices and integrated systems.
The ACT node at the Australian National University will offer services for the micro/nanofabrication of photonic and related devices. In addition, access to the specialised micro-electromechanical systems expertise of the University of Western Australia will be available through this node.
The Queensland node, through the University of Queensland, will offer comprehensive processing capabilities for nano-bio and soft materials, such as polymers, which are used in a wide range of industries from food processing to pharmaceuticals.
The New South Wales node will feature electron beam lithography and other services for nano-electronics research, including semiconductor device fabrication, at the University of New South Wales.
The Maquarie/Australian Technology Park node specialises in the microprocessing of both planar and bulk optical materials such as silica, silicon, lithium niobate and polymers. This node will consolodate activities at Macquarie University, the Optical Fibre Technology Centre and the Bandwidth Foundry to make available specialist services in laser machining, specialty optical fibre fabrication, lithium niobate fabrication and direct-write photolithography.
The Materials node being established by the Universities of Wollongong and Newcastle will offer services relating to the fabrication of novel polymer and ceramic nano-materials, and organic electronic nano-devices.
The South Australian node, based at the University of South Australia, will offer nano-scale patterning and micro-fluidic device fabrication.
A key principle of NCRIS is that the facilities funded by the programme should be accessible to researchers on the basis of merit at reasonable prices, wherever they are located in Australia.
For enquiries about the Australian National Fabrication Facility, please contact:
Ms Rosie Hicks
Chief Executive Officer
Australian National Fabrication Facility Limited
Room 269, Building 75
Monash University, Wellington Road
CLAYTON VIC 3800
Australia
Mobile: +61.0438454077
Email: info@anff.org.au
For matters related to management of the NCRIS programme, please contact the NCRIS Team by email at ncris@dest.gov.au or by telephone on 02 6229 4223.
For further information, please see the homepage of Australian National Fabrication Facility Limited at
http://www.anff.org.au/ 