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General Policies at SNF

  1. About Labmembership: SNF is open to anyone from any academic, government, private or industrial organization for any type of research and development activity allowed by the following: All must abide by the SNF Code of Conduct and non-Stanford researchers must also abide by terms of the Service Center Agreement Forms. Commercial activities (namely, production of devices for sale) are strictly prohibited; although broadly defined R&D, such as prototype development, are within the acceptable scope.  You must become a labmember in order to make use of any of the lab resources.
     
  2. Remote Labmembership: SNF is a "sandbox", where members can work hands-on. However, if you have a project and are unsure whether you have the time or expertise to execute this yourself, we offer several options for fabrication services. We also invite you to discuss your projects and these options with one of our technical liaisons.
    • Staff Services: Our experienced staff may be able to fabricate part or all of your device. With a variety of web- based tools, we can work with you, even real-time, to achieve your project needs.
    • Independent Consultants who are labmembers in good standing, offer custom fabrication and other services.
       
  3. Intellectual Property: Stanford University policy prohibits SNF and its Staff from being party to secrecy or disclosure agreements having to do with work being performed in the lab. However, SNF also makes no claims to intellectual property developed independently by researchers using the lab. For more specific detail, please refer to the SNF Agreement Form and the Stanford University Administrative Guide regarding intellectual property.
     
  4. Member Responsibilities: Please help SNF by acknowledging any use of SNF resources in your work. Part of the value of SNF lies, in part, in the visibility our facility maintains in the research community.If you are publishing or presenting papers of work you performed in any of our facilities, please make sure to help us recognize NSF's support in making nano@stanford possible with the following acknowledgement:

    "Work was performed in part in the nano@Stanford labs, which are supported by the National Science Foundation as part of the National Nanotechnology Coordinated Infrastructure under award ECCS-2026822”

    In presentations, please simply list the Stanford Nanofabrication Facility with your other acknowledgements. We greatly appreciate your support.

  1. Fees are charged for equipment use, stockroom or lab supplies, and staff time. There is no charge being in the lab.  Some equipment (such as microscopes) are no-charge.
     
  2. Equipment Use Fees and the Soft Cap System: For satellite labs outside the Cleanroom (ExFab and MOCVD labs), equipment use is strictly on an hourly basis. The soft cap applies to Cleanroom equipment – note that some ExFab equipment (i.e., hourly rates) are physically located in the Cleanroom, but will appear under “ExFab” in the lab management system. Please refer to the Rate/Fees for Lab Use  for current rates.
     
  3. Requests for Adjusting Equipment Use:  Charges for equipment use begin when a member “enables” a specific tool on the lab management system (LMS) and stops when it is “disabled.”   Each member is responsible for equipment charges, even if you forget to disable.  Requests to adjust charges for equipment use should be made to the staff person responsible for that equipment, within two days of the time used.  Requests made after the month-end close may be subject to an administration fee of one hour of staff time.  Please note that adjustment requests due to equipment performance are subject to SNF’s “best effort” policies, as described in Exhibit B of the SNF Service Center Agreement form.
     
  4. Staff Support Charges:  Staff charges may be incurred for:  equipment training, processing services, member-requested equipment services, or administrative fees.  With the exception of equipment training charges (which are disclosed on the Equipment pages), members should acknowledge staff support charges before services are provided. Please also note that outside the lab, staffers are available to answer questions and offer advice without charge. However, projects that require major technical assistance may become subject to staff support charges.
     
  5. Net-30 payment: Invoices are issued to non-Stanford organizations using SNF.  Payment terms are net-30 days after the last day of the month billed.  After 45 days, SNF reserved the right to require a deposit for continued access.  Labmembers can monitor their own lab charges (less overhead) at any time on the lab management system (LMS).  Staffers can also provide this information on request.

  1. Lab Hours: SNF is open 24-hours/day, seven days/week, with lab use subject to the “buddy rule" and the annual University Winter Close.
     
  2. Lab Management System (LMS):  As of February 1st, 2024, the SNF will be using the lab management software NEMO. NEMO was developed by NIST. Each labmember has a personal NEMO account, which is linked to one or more billing accounts. This permits you to "enable" only the tools that you have been trained and qualified to use. "Enabling" activates a piece of equipment and starts incurring charges for use.  As in any other networked environment, you may use only your own individual account and access privileges; do not share your account name and password with anyone.
     
  3. Computing Resources. On-site and remote computing resources that support fabrication are available for labmember use.
     
  4. Storage for Personal Items: Lockers, located in the Main Lab Corridor, and lab bins, located inside the Cleanroom, may be rented for storage of personal items. No hazardous chemicals or materials are allowed in these storage areas. Contact Lab Services Administrator for more information. Assigned and unassigned cubbies for storing personal lab garments are located in the Main Lab Corridor and the shared cube area.
     
  5. Stockroom Items: Labmembers may purchase for lab use, such as wafers, boxes, cleanroom notebooks, tweezers, etc.  Cleanroom suits and blue coats are also available here. Make sure to notify staffers if supplies are running low. Please do not take items to stock another lab; if you need a large amount of supplies, talk with staff.
     
  6. Lab Phones: Several landline phones are located throughout the lab. To dial within Stanford, only the last five digits is required. For local calls off-campus, dial “9” before the seven-digit phone number.  For life- and health-threatening emergencies, you must dial “9-911”.  The numbers for these phones can be found in the “General Contacts” list .
     
  7. Red Phone Intercom/Pager: Several red pager phones are located throughout the lab, including the gowning room entry in the Main Lab Corridor. These red phones connect to the PA system that transmits throughout the lab. To page someone, lift the receiver, speak clearly into the phone, and then hang the phone up.

 

  1. Safety Team: Safety in the workplace is the utmost priority for SNF. The Safety Team at SNF is committed to maintaining and improving safety in the lab, and to ensure compliance with the policies of local regulatory agencies. To report a safety concern, notify a Staff member or send an email to: snf-safety@lists.stanford.edu
     
  2. The Process and Materials Committee (ProM) helps labmembers with new chemicals, materials and processes. The primary consideration of the ProM is safety. Next, is to consider issues which may affect the research of others. To learn more, or if you would like to submit a ProM request, consult the Materials section of the Labuser Guide.
     
  3. Process Clinic:  This biweekly meeting brings together labmembers, from newbies to experienced consultants, with staff from both SNF and SNSF, to brainstorm ways to fabricate and characterize stuff.  Everyone is welcome to pose questions to the collective wisdom of the fab and characterization community.  Look for the Event Calendar for the next scheduled clinic.
     
  4. Faculty Advisory Committee: The Faculty AdCom meets on a semiannual basis with the SNF and Faculty Directors to decide on the broader technology needs and strategic direction of the lab.

  1. Respectful Workplace & Code of Conduct. The Stanford Nanofabrication Facility is committed to providing an environment that is conducive to high-quality research, learning and productivity, based on mutual respect for every individual and the diversity in our community and beyond. We strive for the highest level of interpersonal and professional conduct.  As such, we must exercise courtesy, civility, mutual trust and respectful communication. All of us in this community must act with awareness of how our individual behaviors shape our community as a whole.  
     
  2. Visitor Policy. Current labmembers may bring visitors to tour and observe lab operations.  Visits must be approved by SNF staff and each visitor must fill out an "SNF Visitor Form" acknowledging responsibilities.
     
  3. Video Monitoring. Video cameras are installed throughout the labs and in the receiving/stockroom areas of the building. These cameras serve multiple purposes: they enhance safety, they provide security for protected/hazardous areas of the building, and they may be used for remote training purposes. Video is recorded, but is not viewable or accessible by the public. SNF’s  video policies are governed by the University's policies on video monitoring.
     
  4. Buddy Rule. Never work alone in a lab with chemical and physical hazards.  See the  buddy rules in the Safety-for-all section of the lab manual.

 

Last modified: 15 Feb 2024