Tutorials
The following are various tutorials from our NanoFab Wiki, collected here for your convenience.
Fabrication Tracking and Process Design
Designing experiments, tracking your fabrication steps/process improvements, and keeping track of your results are key to achieving repeatable and improved results!
See this tutorial for example Travelers, Design of Experiments, and Manufacturing Execution Systems:
CAD/Drawing Mask Plates
- Here are pages to help you design your devices in drawing programs, and make photomasks (aka. "masks" or "reticles") for various systems in our lab.

KLayout: example CAD file.
Microfabrication CAD drawings are simple 2D drawings with layers, even though they are intended to become 3D devices through the fabrication process. The fabrication is all top-down, hence only 2D patterning is used.
- Calculators + Utilities > CAD Layout and Mask Design - links to drawing programs and tutorials
- Calculators + Utilities > CAD Design Tips - key concepts you should utilize in your drawings, and tips for setting up your CAD programs
- Calculators + Utilities > Example CAD File - example stepper mask CAD files, including advanced layout for multiple experiments.
- Calculators + Utilities > CAD Files & Templates - example GDS/OAS files for various useful structures (alignment marks, verniers, fonts etc)
Stepper Mask Tutorials

- Stepper Reticle Layout vs Wafer Layout (Demis D. John) - explains how Stepper mask layout is very different than other litho systems.
- Stepper Reticle Layout (Advanced) - Complex Experiments and Variations - If you need many design variations on your wafer.
Mask Making Guidelines
Info for mask/CAD layout for specific tools.
- Photomask Ordering Procedure for UCSB Users - see this page for how to submit your order into the purchasing system.
- Stepper Mask-Making Guidelines - Info needed to design and order a reticle for our Stepper systems.
- ASML-specific Mask Making Guidelines (Private) - More detailed info to design and order a reticle for this specific ASML system.
- Access is restricted to trained users only by ASML's requirement - please contact tool supervisor for access.
- Autostep 200 Mask Making Guidance - information on designing and ordering your photomasks for the GCA AutoStep 200.
- GCA 6300 Mask Making Guidance (Work in progress) - GCA 6300 Stepper
- Mask Making Guidelines - Contact Masks - for the MJB-3 & MA6 Contact Aligners
- MLA150 - Design Guidelines - for the Heidelberg MLA150 Direct-Writer
Lithography Tutorials
- Lithography Calibration - Analyzing a Focus-Exposure Matrix (FEM) - Projection litho systems (steppers, direct-writers) usually require a lithography calibration, using a Focus-Exposure Matrix/Array (FEM/FEA).
- Lift-Off Description/Tutorial - How it works, process limits and considerations for designing your process.
General Fabrication
- Processing - How Do I…? ← This page attempts to list common solutions to fabrication issues our lab users often run into.


