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Housed in ICTAS CRC, the Nanoscale Characterization and Fabrication Lab is an Instrumentation Facility for Researchers

Technology is at a unique point in history.
Engineering systems are now the same size as basic units of life. Sensors and probes operate at the cellular level, and materials are manipulated at even smaller dimensions – down to individual atoms.

The NCFL was created to provide researchers with the tools to work in converging disciplines at these dimensions. Established in 2007, it is an initiative of the Institute for Critical Technology and Applied Science at Virginia Tech. The facility is equipped with more than $10 million in highly specialized equipment, more than half of which was made possible through funding provided by Commonwealth Research Initiative. It seeks to help researchers investigate novel phenomena and build transforming technologies that solve critical challenges.

The NCFL provides:

• Access to advanced equipment for electron microscopy, optical microscopy, and several spectroscopic techniques
• Training for students and researchers in the use of the lab’s instrumentation
• Short courses and characterization services for industry

We are facilitating research in:

• Targeted delivery of nano-medicine
• Fuel cells
• Nanoscale engineering and the environment
• Self-assembled nanostructures
• Nano-metrology and nano-manufacturing
• Paleobiology