capabilities Overview
Microdevices Laboratory (MDL) is committed to our continued tradition of innovative microdevice and nano technologies. New investments enable leading-edge in situ planetary-science as well as remote-sensing technologies for Astrophysics, Planetary and Earth Science observations.
MDL is a prime example of JPL’s dedicated efforts to create and deliver high-risk, high-payoff technologies for NASA’s future planetary, astrophysics, and Earth science missions. Over 70 scientists and technologists use the 11,000-square-foot micro/nano fabrication facility, which provides the following capabilities:
Lithography — contact, projection, and electron beam lithography
Thin Film Deposition — electron beam evaporation, plasma deposition, sputtering, molecular beam epitaxy, atomic layer epitaxy
Thin Film Etching — deep reactive ion etching (RIE) in silicon, plasma, and inductively coupled etching
Inspection and Characterization — scanning electron microscope, atomic force microscope, fluorescence and confocal microscopes, X-ray photoemission spectroscopy, low-temperature measurement
The laboratory is flexible, allowing research, development, and small-scale production of a very broad range of devices with core technologies in:
- Advanced microfabrication
- Electron beam lithography–based optics
- Semiconductor lasers, visible–UV detectors
- Infrared focal plane arrays
- Terahertz devices
- Superconducting materials and devices
- Nano and micro systems
MDL News & Trends
MDL TLS Instrument Vital to Mars Science Laboratory Mission
MDL Continues Research on Extreme Environment Sensors
Novel Infrared Focal Plane Array Deliveries