Albany NanoTech is a fully-integrated research, development, prototyping, pilot manufacturing and education resource managing a strategic portfolio of state-of-the-art laboratories, supercomputer and shared-user facilities and an array of research centers located at the University at Albany - SUNY. Its first research center, the NYS Center for Advanced Thin Film Technology was established by New York State in 1993 to provide its company partners with a unique environment to pioneer, develop, and test new ideas within a technically aggressive yet economically competitive research environment.
Albany NanoTech works with over 100 companies located worldwide providing technology development and commercialization support for pre-competitive and proprietary projects. Its partners represent the entire "food chain" of companies in the semiconductor industry including the advanced device fabricators, primary equipment suppliers, component suppliers and material or chemical suppliers. As a result, the center has developed a strong reputation with many companies in the industry as an ideal environment to develop integrated solutions using proprietary technologies while creating strategic partnerships beneficial to all participants.
Albany NanoTech serves the needs of its partners through its participation in long-range visionary technology development programs (eg. Interconnect Focus Research Center), in medium-range technology development programs (eg. Center for Advanced Thin Film Technology) and short-range programs (SEMATECH, NIST-ATP, etc.). Albany NanoTech is able to accelerate the commercialization of technologies by providing a one-stop-shop for technology deployment, market development, economic outreach business assistance.
The Albany NanoTech Complex currently has a net asset value in excess of $125 M and will exceed $500 M within two years through extensive, already committed, state and industry funding for the only user-shared, 228,000 sq. ft., 300 mm wafer class 1 facility in the world. These services are designed to carry a product through its entire development cycle beginning with the formulation of new frontier scientific concepts and technical innovations, followed by the implementation of medium-range R&D programs, then short-term pilot prototyping, technology insertion, test-bed integration with market introduction assistance and workforce development.
Albany NanoTech is staffed by a diverse group of scientists, engineers and technicians with expertise in various phases of fabrication and characterization supported by an array of unique, manufacturing-grade tools. Its activities focus is on addressing: 1) the versatile requirements associated with the target specifications of next generation SOC technologies; and, 2) development of tools, chemicals and processes for making advanced integrated circuits and nanosystems. In addition, Albany NanoTech has extensive capability for materials characterization of devices at all stages of fabrication including ion, optical & electron imaging and analysis instruments that can determine the chemistry and morphology of complex structures.