Sale pricing extended to July
MCN is continuing its sale prices until the end of July, offering reductions to tool usage and staff assistance.
The sale prices are:
- 25% off all instrument bookings and caps*
- 20% off staff rates*
* (i) discount may be applied on top of existing block discounts, (ii) discount can not be used for block/prepaid usage outside of sale period, (iii) discount does not apply to the cost of consumables.
Information on MCN’s Pricing Policy can be found here. If you have any questions regarding the discounted pricing schedule, please contact us.
Upcoming training and events
In March and April, MCN will be hosting a number of training courses in the MCN boardroom. These sessions are of critical importance to the safety and progression of the Centre’s users, so please save the dates. You don’t need to book for any of the training events unless you intend to bring a large group.
Induction refreshers
Abridged refresher courses are compulsory for all users of the MCN facility and must be completed every 12 months to maintain access. These are held biannually in April and October and last for approximately one hour each. Attendees are asked to bring their access fobs for renewal.
Upcoming dates: Monday 10 April, 2-3pm, Tuesday 11 April, 10-11am, Wednesday 12 April, 2-3pm, and Thursday 13 April, 10-11am.
Occupational Health & Safety Training
OH&S training is available to all users.
Upcoming dates:
Day 1: Wednesday 15 March 9.30am – 5.00pm covering essential OH&S, risk management, and workplace safety inspections.
Day 2: Thursday 16 March – 9.30am – 4.30pm covering ergonomics and manual handling, hazard and incident investigation, hazardous substances and dangerous goods awareness.
Cancelled Induction Training
The General Induction & Dangerous Goods Waste Management Induction scheduled for Monday 17 April have been cancelled due to the Easter public holiday.
The next general induction will be held on 1 May.
And the winner is…
The votes are in, the ANFF-VIC Image of the Year Competition has been won by Dr Tridib Saha for his submission, “Rebel”, following a public vote on our twitter page.
Tridib’s work on improving the efficiency of ultraviolet (UV) sensors produced the image, demonstrating that nanofabrication is not only important, but also easy on the eye.
Tridib’s research required the creation of zinc oxide nanostructures on a piezoelectric crystal, langasite. The result is a ZnO-based thickness shear mode resonator that has demonstrated exciting benefits over predecessor technologies. The device, once refined, could potentially be used to generate low-power UV sensors, and therefore as energy-efficient alternatives for a feast of remote sensing applications.
Tridib’s work was conducted at Monash University Malaysia and characterised in part at the Melbourne Centre for Nanofabrication (MCN). MCN’s laser Doppler vibrometry equipment was used to take non-contact measurements of the surface of Tridib’s ZnO sensor.
ANFF-VIC would like to thank all of this year’s competitors and all of those who voted. The full submissions list is linked below and make sure you enter next year’s competition.
Description: "SEM images of my optical device which is fabricated using EBL and Ni electroplating on a Si/Si3N4/Au substrate. The structures (triangles) are Nickel which are standing on the gold substrate."
Credit: Alaleh Aminzadeh
Description: "SEM images of my optical device which is fabricated using EBL and Ni electroplating on a Si/Si3N4/Au substrate. The structures (triangles) are Nickel which are standing on the gold substrate."
Credit: Alaleh Aminzadeh
Title: "Astronaut"
Description: "The ‘Astronaut’ shown here is a silica hollow capsule, which is prepared by one step wet chemistry method at room temperature. The nano-scale cute ‘astronaut’ silica capsule is a promising material with potential applications as nanoreactor, template and for sustained release."
Credit: Dashen Dong
Credit: So Hung Huynh (Henry)
Description: Images of a gold substrate used for training of FIB users at MCN. The the "dots/burn marks" were created when the shutter for the ion source did not close properly after using it for imaging. As a result it started to locally degrade the substrate.
Credit: Julian Lloyd
Description: "Micron-scale plant founded during synthesis of Au nanoparticles, it looks like one kind of plant which has several flowers and large leaves."
Credit: Qianqian Shi
Title: “Starry universe”
Description: “One of three from a failed experiment. They were taken purely because I liked them in the artistic way (not the scientific and engineering perspectives). Resist on Si wafer after stamp-substrate separation. Colours are due to thickness variation of the resist on Si. Shapes are the results from the contributions including resist flow, air bubbles and peeling off of resist during stamp-substrate separation."
Credit: Qicheng Hou
Title: “Blooming coral on rainbow bridge”
Credit: Qicheng Hou
Title: “Seaweed” Description: “Three of three from a failed experiment. They were taken purely because I liked them in the artistic way (not the scientific and engineering perspectives). Resist on Si wafer after stamp-substrate separation. Colours are due to thickness variation of the resist on Si. Shapes are the results from the contributions including resist flow, air bubbles and peeling off of resist during stamp-substrate separation.” Experiment: UV nanoimprinting lithography Substrate: Si wafer Procedure: Resist of UV nanoimprinting lithography spin-coated on substrate, printing stamp (quartz, with features) pressed onto the substrate, UV exposure, separate the stamp and substrate, and the features on the stamp should be transferred onto the substrate.
Credit: Qicheng Hou
Title: “Orderly Caviar”
Description: “Successful imprinting on Si wafer, metallic coatings were evaporated after imprinting.”
Credit: Qicheng Hou
Title: “Galaxian in the microworld”
Description: “Successful imprinting on Si wafer conducted, RIE was used after imprinting to etch resist.”
Credit: Qicheng Hou
Description: "One of Three. ZnO micro/nano structures synthesized on silicon substrates using thermal evaporation method. Each of the ZnO structures resemble naturally occuring flora and fauna."
Credit: Tridib Saha
Description: "Two of three. ZnO micro/nano structures synthesized on silicon substrates using thermal evaporation method. Each of the ZnO structures resemble naturally occuring flora and fauna."
Credit: Tridib Saha
Swinburne researcher awarded Victorian Fellowship
Dr Peng-Yuan (George) Wang has been awarded a Victoria Fellowship to assist with an international study mission.
George, who is an ARC Discovery Early Career Researcher Award Fellow at Swinburne, has been studying stem cells, nanofabrication, and advanced materials for more than a decade, researching how surface properties influence stem cell behaviour.
He has been making use of the UV/Ozone cleaner and a plasma reactor at the ANFF-Vic Biointerface Engineering Hub based at Swinburne to clean and pretreat surfaces, as well as the Melbourne Centre for Nanofabrication’s atomic force microscopy (AFM), Reactive Ion Etching (RIE) and confocal microscopy capabilities.
George is one of 12 early career researchers to be awarded the Victoria Fellowship by the Victorian Government valued at up to $18,000. He will visit two world-leading labs in stem cell research and bioengineering in the USA and Canada.
For more details head to the Swinburne website.
Congratulations Dr Soon Hock Ng
MCN would like to congratulate Dr Soon Hock Ng on the successful completion of his PhD. Soon Hock started his doctorate with Monash University in 2012, when he began investigating self-assembling nanoparticle structures.
Soon Hock is now a Process Engineer at MCN where he makes use of the expertise he gained during both his doctorate and earlier studies.
Congratulations Soon Hock and continue the good work!
MCN staff recognised with Frater Awards
Two of MCN’s staff were recognised with Frater Awards at this year’s ANFF Annual Research Showcase, held 15-17 November 2016.
Named after ANFF’s first chairman, Dr Robert Frater AO (pictured far right), Frater Awards are a professional development award given to ANFF staff for outstanding achievement. The award funds local or international travel aimed at fostering technical and professional growth.
MCN staff recognised were Dr Yang Lim (pictured centre left) and Dr Hemayet Uddin (pictured centre right).
Yang is heading to Canada to train with experts in Intlvac Thin Film Corp extensive development laboratory increase her knowledge of advanced electron beam evaporation techniques.
Hemayet will use the opportunity to travel to Switzerland for on-site training at SwissLitho, IBM and ETH to strengthen his expertise in Thermal Scanning Probe Lithography (t-SPL) and related supporting processes.
MCN would like to congratulate both Yang and Hemayet, as well as the other award winners, Dr Li Li (ANFF-ACT), Dr Wael Al Abdulla (ANFF-Q), and Dr Donghoon Chang (ANFF-SA).
ANFF-Vic Image of the Year Competition
This competition is now closed. Please head to the news feed for the latest information.
It’s time to enter ANFF-Vic’s Image of the Year Competition.
The winner will receive a $200 cash prize as well as recognition through our media channels and featured placement on Nanomelbourne.com.
Submissions are now open – send your high resolution images of work conducted within ANFF-Vic in jpg, png or tif format to mcn-images@nanomelbourne.com with a short description of the image.
In this year’s competition, the public will decide the winner. Once a shortlist has been selected, we will upload the images to our twitter page, @Nanofab, and the image with the most likes and shares will win.
All users are eligible, there is no limit to the number of times that you can enter, and no particular theme for the competition.
Get submitting!
New case studies available
Providing a Platform for muscle stem cell therapy
A team of Victoria-based researchers is taking tips from Mother Nature to make muscle stem cell (MSC) therapy a more effective and affordable option for treating degenerative diseases. The group is attempting to increase the efficiency of stem cell proliferation by introducing nerve-like stimulations into the environments in which the cells grow.
Back-contacted perovskite solar cells
Solar cells are one of the most promising and accessible mechanisms by which energy providers can reduce their carbon footprint. By combining the benefits of back-contacted solar cells with perovskite materials, researchers have achieved a much sought after pathway to more efficient photovoltaic devices.
Gold nanowires and nanorods
Professor Wenlong Cheng from Monash University has been exploring unique properties of gold nanomaterials for over 16 years. Two recent projects, conducted at the Melbourne Centre for Nanofabrication (MCN), have shown that from the selective targeting of tumours to fabricating flexible electronic health monitoring devices, these materials are poised to make a big impact on the way we approach and receive healthcare.
Folding plasmene nanosheets
Professor Wenlong Cheng has been investigating how to make an unusual class of materials with exotic properties and unprecedented real-world applications.
Diamond-coated carbon fibre
A team of Victorian scientists have coated carbon fibre with diamond, enhancing the material’s usability in medical and sensor applications where the composite material offers huge potential advantages.
MCN is now on Twitter
MCN has entered the world of Twitter, follow @Nanomelb for the latest news, events, photos and more.
You can also follow our LinkedIn account for more updates from MCN.
Blender training days a success!
MCN has been conducting a series of introductory training events for using the Blender suite to create publication quality images.
Led by MCN staff member, Soon Hock Ng, the 3D graphics workshop introduced attendees to Blender, an open source 3D creation suite. It was aimed at people who had not used Blender before or haven’t done any non-CAD 3D modelling. The hands-on workshop began with the basics of interface navigation and simple modelling, and covered rendering, materials and lighting as well as some beginner particle effects, before exhibiting some advanced techniques for the attendees to practice.
“Skillsets in this area (3D rendering) are already important across all realms of science, and the bar is rising every day. It has critical impact on our ability to publish, convey information and ‘sell’ our science,” – Dr Shaun Howard, an attendee from CSIRO Manufacturing.
With around 50 participants from various Victorian universities and CSIRO, the workshops were regarded as an enormous success and laid a good foundation to continue this sort of training as part of MCN’s offerings.
“I found the workshop to be very informative and practical,” Ashley Roberts, an attendee from Monash University said. “Soon Hock was great, and after participating, I feel confident I will continue developing my skills using the software.”
Be sure to keep checking the MCN events page and follow the link at the bottom to be kept up to date on upcoming MCN training days and events.
