New Equipment and Process Capabilities
The NFF (CWB) has been awarded funding from the Office of the Vice-President for Research and Development (VPRDO) to acquire a new electron beam lithography system EBPG5150+, from Raith B.V.. This system will replace the old JEOL JBX-6300FS, which has been experiencing performance degradation and long downtime due to obsolete parts.
New Equipment under Service
The Veeco Fiji G2 Plasma Enhanced ALD has been installed, and on-site acceptance has been completed. The system is now available for NFF (CWB) users. At the same time, NFF (CWB) staff are working on recipe tuning and preliminary process test runs, including Al2O3, SiO2, TiO2, Ga2O3, AlN and TiN depositions. These processes will be made available to all NFF (CWB) users, and the cleanliness level of this ALD is classified as “Semi-clean”.
Review of Central Research Facilities – NFF (CWB)
In January 2025, the University initiated a comprehensive review of the overall operations of the NFF (CWB). This assessment is conducted every ten years to ensure that the lab is efficiently managed and equipped to meet current and future challenges.
Review of the NFF (CWB) Charging Scheme
To address the rising costs of chemicals, consumables, and maintenance for existing equipment, the NFF (CWB) has adjusted the charging rates to ensure the continued quality of our services. This adjustment took effect in September 2025.
Renovation of Room 2225 for the Expansion of NFF (CWB) Lab
This year, the NFF (CWB) acquired Room 2225 as a new satellite lab, covering an area of approximately 21.5 m2. Renovations are currently underway. A new CVD furnace system will be newly installed, and two DRIE etchers, currently located in the DRIE Center, will be relocated to this room.
Update on the Implementation of the Smart Door Lock System
We are pleased to announce that the integration of the NFF (CWB) lab booking system with the university’s smart door lock system has been successfully completed!
Publication Highlights
The NFF (CWB) user Yue NIU’s paper titled “Broadband sub-bandgap linear photodetection in Ge+-implanted silicon waveguide photodiode monitors” was published in the Advanced Photonics in September 2025. Yue NIU is supervised by Prof. Andrew W. POON.
Events and Activities
This year, the NFF (CWB) has hosted a variety of lab visits and workshops to promote the NFF (CWB) to hundreds of participants from diverse backgrounds, including private companies, universities and government sectors in mainland China. Additionally, we organized a 2-day workshop with the Health, Safety & Environment Office (HSEO) to facilitate information exchange.
We would like to express our sincere appreciation to Mr. Norman LAW as he retires after serving at the NFF (CWB) since 2001. Norman has been a key member of the NFF (CWB), responsible for all IT-related matters.
Meko graduated from HKUST last year. As a quick learner and analytical aerospace engineering graduate, he will help with the lab operations and equipment maintenance of the dry etching and sputtering systems.
Mr. LIU joined the NFF (CWB) for one-year as a Visiting Scholar in April and he comes from the Institute of Microelectronics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (IMECAS). He is now working in the photolithography module.