About this course

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The nano@stanford facilities include the Stanford Nanofabrication Facility (SNF), the Stanford Nano Shared Facilities (SNSF), the Stanford Materials Analysis Facility (MAF), and the Stanford Environmental Measurement Facility (EMF).

What you'll learn

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This course specifically includes tools and processes in SNF and SNSF. Prior to getting in-lab and hands-on training on particular pieces of equipment or processes in these facilities, lab members need to go through appropriate sections and subsections of this course. Please note this is an on-going course as we add more tool and processing sections (utilizing information from our current webpages, and creating new material), and also as we add and change tools and procedures in our ever-evolving facilities.

The preparatory training in this course involves different levels and methods of instruction and learning. The researcher will learn basic principles and concepts, as well as detailed operating procedures for equipment in the facilities. The content may be similar to what is taught in regular classes or lectures, but is presented in much smaller, more condensed units.

We believe these different levels and methods of learning will greatly help the researcher in becoming a better user of our facilities. The reasons are twofold. First, it will give the researcher much needed background knowledge and information for using the equipment, and choosing the correct tools to use. Second, a large number of our researchers come from a wide range of backgrounds and disciplines: biology, chemical engineering, aero-astro, medicine, and many others. Offering short introductions to plasma physics, optics, choosing the right sputter-deposition equipment, etc. will surely be beneficial to their success in using our varied resources.

Finally, this training and learning material should not only be very useful to our lab members, but to anyone interested in fabrication and characterization, whether they are researchers at other universities or other fabrication facilitates, or just interested in nanofabrication in general. Anyone can view these materials, either as part of a class somewhere or just on their own.

Meet your instructors

Stanford University
Angela Hwang
Director of Education and Outreach
National Nanotechnology Coordinated Infrastructure site at Stanford University

Frequently asked questions

Can anyone take this course?

Yes, one does not have to be an SNF or SNSF lab member or in any way affiliated with Stanford University to take this course. Anyone can learn about nanofabrication and nanocharacterization techniques and tools and the principles behind them by reading any of the course material. However, only SNF and SNSF lab members can be qualified to use SNF and SNSF nanofabrication and nanocharacterization tools by taking this course (before taking the in-lab training), which is its primary purpose.

Who can take this course?

Unfortunately, learners from one or more of the following countries or regions will not be able to register for this course: Iran, Cuba and the Crimea region of Ukraine. While edX has sought licenses from the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) to offer our courses to learners in these countries and regions, the licenses we have received are not broad enough to allow us to offer this course in all locations. EdX truly regrets that U.S. sanctions prevent us from offering all of our courses to everyone, no matter where they live.