연세대학교 고등과학원 (IBS CNM & NanoBME)

Nano Characterization Core(Basement 1)

Nano Charaterization Core hosts electron microscopes, Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR), Vibrating-Sample Magnetometer (VSM), and Atomic Force Microscope (AFM).

The quality of images taken with these instruments is critically affected by the surrounding environments and the instruments need to be isolated to avoid even smallest vibrations induced by human walking and talking. To minimize the effects of vibration and other interferences from surroundings, these instruments are located at the basement 1 level of IBS Hall with better ground stability. Atomic Resolution Microscope (ARM) is placed on a total of eight vibration control devices. In addition, thermos-hygrostat system is operated in the facility.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)

MRI system provides highly detailed images of body tissues. MRI can both detect and process signals generated by hydrogen atoms in tissues when placed in a strong magnetic field stimulated by a resonant magnetic pulse. MRI system installed in IBS Hall exhibits 3 Tesla of magnetic field and designed for animal use.

Vibrating-sample magnetometer (VSM)

VSM is an instrument that measures magnetic properties of materials. It can measure the DC magnetization characteristics of materials by changing the temperature and magnetic fields. The vibrating samples in the magnetic field generates induced current at detector coil which can be measured and converted to the magnetic parameters.

Transmission electron microscopy (TEM)

TEM is used to reveal sub-micrometer and internal fine structure in nanomaterials by using the accelerated electrons passing through the thin sample. With this, researchers can analyze atomic image, crystal structures, and compositions of nanomaterials.

ARM200F (JEOL. Ltd., Cold field emission-Transmission Electron Microscope) is equipped with two Cs-corrector, which is the state-of-the-art equipment to correct phase distortion caused by spherical aberration occurring in TEM / STEM mode.

Atomic resolution of 78 pm in STEM mode can be realized and various reactions occurring at the atomic level such as nanostructure, microstructure, and crystal defects can be analyzed. This microscope includes energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDX) and electron energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS) for elemental identification and mapping.

Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR)

NMR is a nucleus specific spectroscopy that has far reaching applications throughout the physical sciences and chemistry. NMR uses a large magnet to probe the intrinsic spin properties of atomic nuclei. Like all spectroscopic techniques, NMR uses a component of electromagnetic radiation to promote transitions between nuclear energy levels. Most chemists use NMR for structure determination of small molecules.

Nanomaterials Laboratory(3F)

Nanomaterials Laboratory is designed as a wet chemistry laboratory. The lab is equipped with all the necessary components for the chemistry of inorganic and organic molecules and nanomaterials. Here students and researchers design and perform nanomaterial synthesis and their modifications. They develop stimulus-responsive and evolutionary nanomaterials with the new functional capabilities.

There are 28 fume hoods at the lab to conduct chemical experiments and every single researcher is assigned with a fume hood. This provides safe working environments.

The lab is equipped with an air circulation system. Due to massive use of fume hoods, it is always negatively pressurized. To compensate this pressure difference, the automatic pressure control system pumps in filtered air from outside to the lab when necessary.

X-ray diffractometer (XRD)

XRD is an analytical technique primarily used for phase identification of a crystalline material, providing information on unit cell dimensions and orderliness of as-synthesized samples.

Photoluminescence (PL) spectrophotometer

PL spectrophotometry uses a laser beam to capture light generated from a substance as electron falls from the excited electronic state to ground state when irradiated by a laser beam. Measuring the luminescence spectrum allows close observation on material’s optical characteristics.

Gas Chromatography and mass spectrometry (GC-MS)

GC-MS is an analytical technique for organic substances with combined features of gas chromatography and mass spectrometry to separate and identify target substances from the mixture.

Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS)

ICP-MS is a type of mass spectrometry for elemental analyses, capable of detecting most of the periodic table of elements at concentrations as low as one part in 10¹⁵ (part per quadrillion, ppq). It is used in environmental monitoring, geochemical analysis, metallurgy, pharmaceutical analysis, clinical research, etc.

Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) spectrometer

FT-IR is a powerful tool for identifying types of chemical bonds in a molecule by producing an infrared absorption spectrum that is like a molecular "fingerprint". The wavelength of light absorbed is characteristic of the chemical bond as can be seen in this annotated spectrum.

NanoBio Robotics Laboratory(4F)

Nanobio Robotics Laboratory performs researches on biological interfaces with nanomaterials and devices. Nanodevices coupled with single cells will serve as the basis for the nanobio robotics with remote, autonomous, and informaion processing capabilities. Such soft nanobio robotics envisions the future of nanomedicine for navigation, sensing, and treatment of the target biosystems with ultimate precision.

There are two key components at this lab: Clean room and optical microscope room. It is classified and maintained as ISO-1000 class (1000 particle per 1 cubic foot of air). The cleanroom is open to the trained researchers with appropriate personal protection equipment (PPE). This cleanroom is divided into two compartments: white room and yellow room. The white room is designed for processing materials less sensitive to light such as metal deposition, sputtering, etching, and electronic property measurements. The yellow room is for light sensitive processes such as photolithography and electron beam lithography processes. The yellow room is equipped with fume hoods for wet processes, mask aligner, optical microscopes, and scanning electron microscope.

The cleanroom accommodates five to six people to work simultaneously. The optical microscope room (78.90m²) is equipped with various optical microscopes for biological imaging and materials characterization. Some of the microscopes are customized according to the projects: magnetic tweezer system development for cellular manipulations, electrophysiological recording of cells, and fluorescence lifetime measurements of optical materials. Humidity and temperature controls are available in the microscope room to maintain the room condition optimized for biological applications.

Cleanroom (ISO-1000 class)

Humidity and temperature-controlled room with positively pressurized atmosphere. The cleanroom is equipped with many machines and instrumentations for micro- and nano-fabrication of nanobioelectronic devices. The level of dust particles is maintained below 1000 particles per cubic foot.

Electron-Beam & Thermal Evaporator

Electron-Beam & thermal evaporator system is an equipment to deposit various metals on the substrate by concentrating a strong electron beam or by heating the target materials to transform them into steam. Directed deposition of metals on the substrate is achieved with precisely tuned deposition rate of 1 ? 100 A/min.

Sputtering System

Sputter is an equipment for depositing oxides, nitrides, and various semiconductors on the substrate as a thin film layer. Unlike the electron-beam & thermal evaporator, the deposition is conformal due to the high-density plasma generated by a powerful electromagnetic field in the chamber such that uniform coating of a substrate with the same thickness is possible.

Reactive Ion Etching (RIE)

RIE is a type of dry etching and uses chemically reactive plasma to remove material deposited on wafers. The plasma is generated under low pressure (vacuum) by an electromagnetic field. High-energy ions from the plasma attack the wafer surface and react with the surface atoms to detach them from the surface.

Probe station

Probe station is an instrumentation for acquiring electrical signal from the semiconductor devices. The probe station utilizes manipulators which allow the precise positioning of thin needles on the surface of a semiconductor device. If the device is being electrically stimulated, the signal is acquired by the mechanical probe and is displayed on an oscilloscope.

Mask Aligner

Mask aligner is an instrumentation used in a photolithography process, designed for aligning photomask to the photoresist coated substrate. Illumination of UV light on the mask specifically exposes the unmasked photoresist, which can be further developed by rinsing with developer solution. The highest resolution of photolithography using a mask aligner can be done in a few micrometer scales.

Electron-beam lithography

E-beam lithography system is for fabrication of very fine structured nanodevices below 100 nm scale of resolution. It is using scanning electron microscope (SEM) to focus the high energy electron beam to the target substrate to selectively expose the e-beam photoresist. Beam blanker is a characteristic feature of e-beam lithography system which controls the focused electron beam in terms of exposure time, area, and location.

Total internal reflection fluorescence microscope (TIRF)

TIRF is a type of microscope which a thin region of a specimen, usually less than 200 nanometers, can be imaged by using an evanescent wave to selectively illuminate and excite fluorophores in a restricted region of the specimen immediately adjacent to the glass-water interface. TIRF can also be used to observe the fluorescence of a single molecule, making it an important tool of biophysics and quantitative biology.

Biomedical Laboratory(5F)

Biomedical Laboratory is designed to conduct research on the biological and medical applications of nanomaterials and nanodevices. As a platform technology, nanomedicine offers to observe, understand, and control biological systems with on-demand and spatio-temporal controls, which envisions new paradigms in diagnostics and therapeutics in medical science.

This lab is optimized to conduct bioconjugation, molecular cell biology, 3D printing, confocal imaging of cells, and in vivo mouse research. The lab is designed to accommodate 30 people. The lab is separated from the office area by the glass wall.

Confocal microscope (with STORM)

Confocal microscope is a type of microscope that uses an optical imaging technique to increase spatial imaging resolution and contrast by means of using a spatial pinhole to block out-of-focus light in image formation. The spatial resolution in Z-axis can also be improved by adjusting size of pinhole such that Z-stack images can be obtained, which is further reconstructed in 3D.

Fluorescence-Activated Cell Sorting (FACS)

FACS is a specialized type of flow cytometry that rapidly separates labeled living cells of particular types from a heterogeneous mixture of different cell types, based on the specific fluorescence characteristics and light-scattering properties of the target cells.

Tissue clearing system (with SMART labeling)

Tissue clearing system is series of instrumentation and technical process which clear the opaque tissue by treating certain detergents to make it optically transparent in visible wavelength. Especially in neuro science, tissue clearing transparentizes a whole brain which is beneficial to image the brain without sacrificing the structure.

Microplate reader

Microplate reader is an instrument used to detect biological or chemical events of samples in microtiter plates. This is widely used for drug discovery, bioassays, and quality control of proteins and chemicals.

3D Bioprinter

Three dimensional bioprinter utilizes 3D printing techniques to combine cells, growth factors, and biomaterials to fabricate biomedical parts that imitate natural tissue characteristics.

Ultracentrifuge

Ultracentrifuge is a centrifuge optimized for spinning a rotor at very high speeds, capable of generating acceleration as high as 1,000,000g. This is usually used for preparation and analyses of biological molecules.