The Nexus Lab is open to external academic and industrial users. Contact alexander.munro@cnrc-nrc.gc.ca for more information.
Nexus Lab at the Quantum and Nanotechnologies Research Centre - Transcript
In 2020, the Quantum and Nanotechnologies Research Centre in Edmonton created a new lab facility called "The Nexus Lab" to perform design-to-manufacture activities on and into the coming decade.
Each piece of equipment procured for the lab fulfilled specialized requirements for numerous ongoing experiments and projects at the research centre.
Researchers fabricate novel micro- and nano-scale devices or novel measurement techniques that often require integration electronics for iterative testing.
The Nexus Lab is equipped with PCB manufacturing tools that can 3D-print conductive ink and solder paste, stencil print solder onto PCBs, pick and place components onto PCBs, and reflow them in a specialized oven.
Doing this on site reduces a project's budgeted time and costs considerably.
The new lab is also equipped for prototyping mechanical designs developed to validate nano-scale devices.
3D printing is a great tool when setting up novel laboratory experiments. In other cases, 3D bioprinting with various materials is a new technology that can aid in the development of novel biomedical sensing and actuating technologies using hydrogels.
Additionally, microscopy is a key capability in a lab that analyzes novel materials and measures their characteristics.
These capabilities also serve other teams in nanotechnology research in their own investigations.
Once prototypes have been designed and manufactured in the Nexus Lab, it is also necessary to perform electrical validation experiments.
The Nexus Lab is equipped with an array of benchtop laboratory equipment to interface with novel integrated electronics to test design specifications.
Overall, the Nexus Lab has become a hotspot. It is known for its open-door accessibility to any and all teams and projects requiring its capabilities.
It is a makerspace that enables research ideas to blossom from concept to reality.
The Nexus Lab is open to external academic and industrial users. Contact us for more information.