If you have registered as a nanoFAB user, you likely want to use some equipment. Before you can do this, you will need to be trained by a nanoFAB staff member. The number of training sessions required to become proficient and receive a final sign-off depends on the specific equipment and your level of experience; 1 to 5 sessions is typical. During these training sessions, you will be charged for equipment time at the rate appropriate for your project.
In most cases, training is provided on an individual basis, to ensure that the trainee has adequate opportunity to practice all training tasks. For some tools, there is an initial, introductory group training session, with individual training thereafter.
Step-by-step guide
All training requests must be submitted through LMACS.
- If you haven't already done so, create an LMACS account.
Using the Requests system in LMACS, submit a new request, describing your training needs in as much detail as possible. This can be as simple as “I need SEM training” or as complex as a multi-step process flow. Do not worry if you are unsure which specific equipment you will need: our staff can work with you to determine which tools are best suited to your application.
If you need training on several tools as part of the same process, add items in the request for each tool, rather than submitting multiple requests.
Once your request has been reviewed, a nanoFAB staff member will contact you through LMACS for further dialogue or to schedule your training session(s).
All communication regarding the training request should be conducted via comments in the request, to ensure all relevant staff have access to this information.If you are requesting training on equipment in an area that you previously did not have access to (e.g., the cleanroom), you may first be required to attend a safety orientation; this will be added to your request.
Not all lab spaces require a separate safety orientation for equipment access (e.g., characterization lab, FESEM lab, HIM lab). Please request training on the equipment you need, rather than requesting a safety orientation—all safety orientation/training requirements will be handled as part of the equipment training request.
- Once you have satisfied the training requirements on a specific piece of equipment, your access level will be graduated from trainee to user. This will allow you to reserve the equipment and use it without supervision during normal business hours.
Please note that, in the interest of efficiency for both our user community and nanoFAB staff, we typically only offer training that is required to complete current work. That is, we generally do not provide “dummy” training sessions using “standard” specimens; instead, users are expected to use their actual specimens during training sessions. This allows our staff to tailor training to each user’s specific application and minimizes the need for retraining in future.