Cleanroom Researcher

Minnesota Nano Center

The Minnesota Nano Center, or MNC, is a state-of-the-art facility for interdisciplinary research in nanoscience and applied nanotechnology.

The Center offers a comprehensive set of tools to help researchers develop new micro- and nanoscale devices, such as integrated circuits, advanced sensors, microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), and microfluidic systems. The MNC is also equipped to support nanotechnology research that spans many science and engineering fields, allowing advances in areas as diverse as cell biology, high performance materials, and biomedical device engineering.

Have a Project?

The tools and labs of the Nano Center are open for use by all trained and qualified users. We also do custom projects in the areas of microdevices, nanoparticles, and biomedical applications of nanotechnology.

Contact us and find out how we can help you realize your research goals or turn your ideas into new products.

Nano Center News

Low and Koester - near-perfect light absorption in atomic-scale material

Exciting new results on 2D materials from the Low and Koester groups at @UMN, along with collaborators at Notre Dame and KAIST. In their recent Nature Communications paper, the team showed how a phenomenon known as "band nesting" can be used to achieve near-perfect optical absorption in only two layers of TMD materials. 

University of Minnesota researchers made a “near-perfect absorber” by manipulating the already unique electrical properties in a material made up of only two to three layers of atoms.

The team showed that by using twisted layers of MoS2 (assembled in the @MNC), or by inserting a graphene buffer layer, optical absorbance as high as 95% can be achieved. The results have significant implications for novel optoelectronic devices, and provide deeper insights into the fundamental light-matter interactions of 2D materials. Here's a link to the article: https://lnkd.in/gitZC8hs

Nano Center Newsletters

New Tool and Lab Additions

Acknowledgment of NSF and NNCI

Published papers must acknowledge all sources of financial support. Since MNC receives funds from the National Science Foundation through the NNCI network, MNC users must acknowledge that support on all publications and presentations. Our funding is jeopardized unless everyone complies, so please add the following to your acknowledgement sections:

“Portions of this work were conducted in the Minnesota Nano Center, which is supported by the National Science Foundation through the National Nanotechnology Coordinated Infrastructure (NNCI) under Award Number ECCS-2025124."

In circumstances where there is insufficient space for this entire acknowledgement, please be sure to mention "Award Number ECCS-2025124" at a minimum.