Access Procedure For External or NON-UC System Users
IMPORTANT NOTE: There is a $250 fee per new user to set up a Nano3 account. Email Nano3_Access if you experience problems during the access process.
External academic users (such as those from national labs or academic institutions) are not subject to the prepayment terms described below.
Attention Industry Users/Customers: We aim to foster a collaborative and transparent partnership that benefits both parties and minimizes administrative burdens. To ensure a mutually beneficial partnership and a smooth collaboration, we have established the following policies for providing services to you or granting access to Nano3:
Prepayment Requirement for Getting Access to Nano3 Facility or for Complex Services: For getting access to Nano3 facility or services that require hard-to-estimate process developments, we require a prepayment of $5,000 prior to granting access to Nano3 facilities or providing services. This is a one-time prepayment, not a recurring charge. After the first $5,000 is fully utilized, subsequent charges will be billed monthly via invoice. Your funds can be utilized in as many years as you want, as long as you have an unexpired agreement with Nano3. We highly recommend that you use all your remaining funds, if you decide not to renew the agreement, because it is an extremely extensive process for us to provide a refund. Because of that, unused funds at the end of the agreement are indeed eligible for a refund, subject to any outstanding fees due for payments and a $1,000 administrative fee due to the extensive process required to issue refunds at UCSD.
Payment Terms for Simple Services: For simple services that do not require process development by Nano3 staff, and Nano3 staff determine that it is feasible to provide an estimate, you are not subject to the $5,000 prepayment requirement. Instead, we will provide a quote and request full payment prior to the start of the service.
Complimentary Consultation Services: We offer prospective customers up to 1 hour, or 2 sessions, of free consultation to answer questions regarding their projects or process feasibilities before entering into a service agreement with Nano3. This allows us to assess the feasibility of your project and provide guidance on how to move forward.
Additionally, once you have a service agreement with Nano3, you may use another up to 1 hour, or 2 sessions, of free consultation to receive answers to further complicated questions and/or additional guidance from Nano3 staff.
Additional Consultation Services: For any additional meetings or consultations beyond the complimentary sessions, we will charge based on our General Staff Service rates, with a minimum increment of half an hour. For instance, if a meeting took 45 minutes, you would be charged for 1 hour.
We do not charge for simple follow-ups or simple questions that do not require extensive staff time to provide answers or feedback.
Use the following table to determine which steps are needed to complete the Nano3 access procedure. Users wanting both independent and staff-assisted services should complete steps in the Independent Access column.
| User Access Level | ||
| Your Company | Independent Access | Staff-assisted Services Only |
| Has Established a Service Contract with Nano3 | Steps 1, 2a, 4, 5, 6. | Steps 1, 2a, 4, 6. |
| Is New to Nano3 | Steps 1, 2b, 3, 4, 5, 6. | Steps 1, 2b, 3, 4, 6. |
- Email Nano3 Staff with a brief description of your processing goals and requirements at Nano3.
- Please complete either step 2a or step 2b.
- If your company/university has already established a service agreement with Nano3, you can be added to the existing service agreement by signing the New User Form. Please note that your supervisor must also sign the New User Form. You will upload this document when you create your FOM account (Step 4).
- If your company/university is new to Nano3, complete the appropriate option below:
- If you only requests staff-assisted services (no need for independent facility access), complete the Nano3 External User Services-Only Agreement.
- If you requests independent (self-use) access to the Nano3 Facility, complete the Nano3 External User Independent Access Agreement.
- In either case:
- Enter the required information in Exhibit A of the respective agreement, then print and sign the document.
- Convert the signed user agreement into digital form. You will upload this document when you create your FOM account (Step 5).
- Please note that every agreement has to be approved by UCSD campus, not Nano3. The campus approval process may take one to two, or sometimes three, weeks.
- Download this questionnaire document and provide your answers to the questions in the document. This is requested by the UCSD Business Contracts & Export Control Offices.
- Send both your signed agreement and the answered questionnaire document to James Koga <jkoga@ucsd.edu> with a subject title of your institution/company name.
- Obtain a digital copy of the company insurance certificate. See Section 8 of the service agreement for details. You will upload this document when you create your FOM account (Step 4).
- Register your FOM user account here.
- Click the link to log in with FOM username and password.
- Click “I am a new user”.
- Select “External User” type.
- Enter the required information.
- You will receive an email from FOM with a link to activate your account. Activate your account.
- Log into your account and select the user type (External For-profit User or External Non-profit User), access level (independent and/or staff assisted service), your company’s/university’s relationship with Nano3 (new to Nano3 or has service agreement with Nano3), and upload the relevant documents.
- Make sure to complete steps above (where applicable) before attempting to use any additional functionality in FOM. Facility staff will review the submitted documents and confirm your account in FOM. Only then will you receive another email indicating that your FOM account has been confirmed.
- Once you receive notification that your FOM account has been confirmed, apply for the Nano3 safety orientation, only if you need independent access to Nano3 facility (users who only need services do not need to complete this step) :
- Log in to your FOM user account.
- If you need access to the Cleanroom click on “Full Facility Orientation” (in the “Available Resources” list).
- If you only need access to equipment in the Analytical Labs (non-Cleanroom), click on “Analytical Labs Orientation” (in the “Available Resources” list).
- You will be prompted to pass an exam based on the Nano3 Policies and Procedures. When you pass the exam, a request to attend the orientation will be sent to Nano3 staff.
- Once Nano3 staff receives your orientation request, your paperwork will be processed, and you will receive an email stating that you are on the orientation wait list (typically within 2 business days).
- Facility orientations take place normally once every week, and you will be contacted by a Nano3 staff member regarding the orientation scheduling. Please allow for up to 2 hours for a Nano3 Full Facility Orientation, or up to 1 hour for an Analytical Labs Orientation.
- After you have completed all of the above access requirements and your agreement has been approved, you will receive an email within 1-2 business days with instructions on how to obtain the necessary facility access card ($25 per card, applies only to users who need access to facility), and you will be able to request for training on specific equipment or start using staff-assisted services.
For instructions to sign up for equipment training in your FOM account, click here.

