As some of you might have heard, an unattended chemical heating on a hotplate at a high temperature caused a fire inside one of the chemical fume hoods in the cleanroom in the early evening of July 31st.

In response to this severe incident, Nano3 has collaborated with EH&S to revise our policies regarding unattended hotplate use and chemical heating. Please take a moment to review these important changes:

1. No non-Nano3-provided hotplates are allowed for use in Nano3.

2. Only the following chemicals can be left unattended on hotplates, with a maximum temperature setting of 90 degrees Celsius:

– AZ NMP Rinse
– PG Remover
– RR41 Remover
– Potassium hydroxide aqueous solution, up to 30% concentration, with no other additives (such as IPA, H2O2, etc.) in the solution

3. Heating chemicals at temperatures higher than 90 degrees Celsius is allowed only during working hours (Monday to Friday, 8am-5pm) with Nano3 staff’s approval. The user must be present in the cleanroom and around the area where the chemical is being heated.

4. All other acid or base chemical heating is allowed only during working hours (Monday to Friday, 8am-5pm) and must be attended by users. Heating acids or bases to temperatures higher than 90 degrees Celsius requires prior approval from Nano3 staff.

Please remember that all chemical containers must be properly labeled with the full chemical name, date, your name, and your contact information, regardless of the chemical type and whether it is being used or left unattended in fume hoods.

Feel free to contact a Nano3 staff if you have any questions.

Thank you for your attention to these important safety updates.

We’re happy to announce that the new Labcoter 3 Parylene Coater is now available for use. This advancement has been made possible thanks to Nano3′ Faculty Director and the dedicated efforts of our staff who have completed the setup of this new tool.

The Labcoter 3 has replaced the old Labcoter 2 system, which has served us for many years but has shown significant degradation in performance. The new coater comes with several new features that we believe will greatly enhance your experience:

– An upgraded interface with a touchscreen control panel designed to resemble the old Labcoter 2 interface, eliminating the need for retraining.
– Enhanced process control capabilities, including chiller temperature monitoring and options for data logging and export.
– Greater control over process parameters, with the addition of a soft start or “slow start” option to better manage chamber pressure rise, especially useful for small samples like thin and round substrates, fine wire, and needles.
– An improved vacuum sensor and readout for more accurate monitoring.

We have prepared a new Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) and a concise one-page writeup to assist you in getting familiar with the new system.

Should you have any questions or require further information, please do not hesitate to reach out to Alistair at advizuet@ucsd.edu.

We have observed a significant number of no-show sessions on the tool reservation calendars for many of the major tools at Nano3. We kindly remind all users to be considerate and cancel your reservations as soon as possible if you know you will not be able to use the reserved tool times. Your thoughtfulness will greatly aid in freeing up the highly sought-after tool time for some of our busiest tools, such as the MLA 150, sputters, etchers, ALD, and others, thus enhancing the efficiency of tool and facility usage.

Unfortunately, some users have accumulated a substantial number of no-show sessions and hours in less than 2 months. To ensure tool availability for all users and to prevent instances where tools are reserved but not utilized, we are implementing a new policy effective from October 1st, 2024.

We understand there are various reasons that might prevent you from canceling reservations. The new policy includes the following statements:

1) Each user will be permitted to accumulate up to 50 no-show sessions and 50 no-show hours per calendar year.

2) Once a user accumulates 50 no-show sessions, OR 50 no-show hours within a calendar year, their ability to make reservations for any Nano3 tools will be restricted to within 1 (one) week.

3) On the first day of each calendar year, all users’ no-show sessions and no-show hours will automatically reset to zero.

4) For the 2024 calendar year, effective October 1st, each user will be allowed to accumulate up to 20 no-show sessions and 20 no-show hours.

Please understand that this policy aims not to limit your ability to reserve the tools necessary for your research but to gently remind users that prompt cancellations of unnecessary sessions can be a valuable resource for many others.

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.