About the Institute for Integrated Micro and Nano Systems

The Institute for Integrated Micro and Nano Systems (IMNS) combines technology and chip design to address applications in biomedical, biomimetic, quantum, energy, advanced and neural computation.

Our researchers use micro and nano fabrication, micro and nano-electronics & photonics, integrated with bespoked circuits and system-on-chip designs to create smart micro- and nano-systems.

The R&D portfolio covers the complete spectrum of microelectronics, from design to fabrication. It includes the in-house capability to process foundry wafers to create novel systems that defy Moore's law of doubling semiconductors on chips, creating more-than-Moore solutions, and deploying those solutions in a broad range of applications.

Our next-generation technology has allowed our researchers to create innovative designs which have secured strategic capital investments. These assets include a maskless lithography tool, deep etch technology for silicon vias, wafer thinning equipment, resist spray coating units, atomic layer deposition machine, XPS/Raman surface analysis tool. Our research institute was the first facility in the United Kingdom to install the Heidelberg Nano (formerly SwissLitho) NanoFrazor Explore nanolithography tool. The recent acquisition will serve to open new avenues of research ideas and direction.

The aims of the Institute for Integrated Micro and Nano Systems are to:

  • Deliver leading research on the above portfolio with a particular emphasis on interdisciplinary collaboration
  • Publish the results in high quality journals
  • Disseminate them to the wider society
  • Maximise the economic and societal impact of the research by pursuing the research into applications sometimes on into the commercial arena

An important aspect of the above objective is to also provide high quality training in research, technology & enterprise and thereby to train the next generation of researchers, technologists and engineers.

Research activities range from industrially-focussed process development and low-power system-on-chip design to long-term research into circuit design, system architectures, SPAD arrays, microdisplays and novel structures on silicon. In the latter context, strong links to the Institute for Bioengineering and the life sciences exist and thus "bio-electronics" and "bio-mechanics", in several forms, now provide an area of rapid growth that links the core activities within the Institute. The Institute's facilities include a substantial design and test resource, a comprehensive silicon and MEMS fabrication capability which based at the Scottish Microelectronics Centre (SMC). In addition to the extensive micro/nano fabrication equipment toolset the SMC also houses analytical equipment with SEM, AFM and FIB equipment for chip visualisation and repair as well as XRF, nanoindentation and stress characterisation tools.

Research Themes

The Institute for Integrated Micro and Nano Systems currently has a number of research themes:

The Institute contribute to ERPE activities in:

  • Micro and Nano Systems
  • Optical Engineering
  • Robotics and Autonomous Systems
  • Sensor Technology and Electronics

Research Facilities

Further Information

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