Getting Started
Operating Policies
The Nanoscale Characterization and Fabrication Laboratory, a facility operated by the Institute for Critical Technology and Applied Science (ICTAS), operates and maintains sophisticated scientific equipment to support the research activities of Virginia Tech, the broader academic community, and the Commonwealth of Virginia. NCFL Instrument Specialists supervise the instruments, provide user training, develop characterization techniques and guide researchers in applying the equipment to specific research problems.
Instrument Rates, Scheduling Instrument Time
The equipment in the NCFL is available on a cost basis to members of the academic research community and to industry. A table of current rates is available here (click table to enlarge):
Instrument rates are classified under the following categories:
- Virginia Tech research: Internal Rates apply for researchers with a Virginia Tech account. To arrange instrument use, please complete an Internal Service Request Form (ISR) and bring it with you to your instrument session.
- University and nonprofit research: External Federal Rates apply for researchers from other academic or non-profit institutions. To arrange instrument use, please complete the Work Order form, and obtain a purchase order from your institution.
- Federal contract research being performed by private industry: External Federal Rates apply. To arrange instrument use, please complete the Work Order form (be sure to fill out and sign the funding certification section), and obtain a purchase order from your institution.
- Analytical fee-for-service work for industry: External Market Rates apply. To arrange instrument use, please complete the Work Order form, and obtain a purchase order from your institution.
- Basic SEM operating parameters and principles (selecting accelerating voltage, working distance, imaging modes, correcting astigmatism, etc)
- EDX Spectroscopy and OIM
- Instrument-specific training (on the Zeiss 1550 FE-SEM, the FEI Quanta 600 FEG, or the Helios NanoLab 600)
Please contact the appropriate Instrument Specialist to discuss instrument capabilities, availability, and training.
Online reservations for selected instruments can be made via the Instrument Calendars.
Mini-Grants
A small pool of funds are available to Virginia Tech personnel to pay for instrument time to do feasibility tests and collect preliminary data for external proposals. These funds can only be used to cover NCFL instrument time. To apply, complete this mini-grant request form and email it to: ncfl@vt.edu.
Physical Access
The NCFL building is staffed with Instrument Specialists weekdays from 8:00 to 5:00 and a Receptionist. Researchers can request a security key card that provides access to the instruments or research labs in the building. Key cards are not loanable or transferable to other people. After hours access to NCFL instruments is available to users who have undergone training and are approved to operate an instrument without supervision. Users who would like a key card for building access should complete a key-card request form for a non-transferable security card and submit it to the Receptionist at the NCFLfront desk.
Training Policy
Users who wish to use an NCFL instrument without the supervision of an NCFL instrument specialists must complete the appropriate Training Sessions and become an approved operator. Training Sessions cover instrument operation and safety procedures as well as techniques for obtaining useful information. For example, training sessions in Scanning Electron Microscopy introduce:
Training sessions are scheduled by appointment with an instrument specialist and include charges for the instrument and staff time. The total time needed for the student to show competence on the instrument will be determined by the instrument specialist.