User Rates

For all NCSU academic users there is a tiered cap structure in place per user per project per month with the following levels:

Please note that this tiered cap is available based on received funds. If there is a shortfall in received funds the tiered structure will not be able to be applied. 

If processing for academic users is performed by the NNF staff, an additional staff rate of $75/hour is charged for all processes and this charge is not capped. The same rate also applies to all consulting, troubleshooting or any other work involving the NNF staff. The staff rate is $126.50/hour for industrial projects.

Equipment training will incur cost for both tool usage time and staff time. The tool usage will contribute to the user’s monthly cap but the staff time is not limited. If more than one user can be trained at the same time the cost will be divided between the individual user projects.

NCSU Academic:      Tool Rate = $61/Hr                 Staff Rate = $75/Hr

Non-NCSU System Academic/Gov’t Funded Industry: Tool Rate = $92.70/Hr                 Staff Rate = $113.84/Hr

Privately Funded Industry: Tool Rate = $122.50/Hr                 Staff Rate = $148/Hr

Note: The cost of materials and supplies for all standard NNF processes is included in the user fees unless noted otherwise. 

DC Sputter: All users will be charged a “precious metal fee” for special sputtering target materials such as Au and Pt. For industrial users (remote and on-site) this fee is $214.50/deposition run for up to 300nm thickness. For all academic users, the charge is $150.00/deposition run for up to 300nm thickness and this fee is not capped. Additional deposition over 300nm will be billed in 100nm increments, $71.50/deposition for industry users and $50/deposition for academic users.

Vapor Deposition – Ebeam and RH Evaporators: Users who need precious metal evaporation (e.g. gold, platinum, silver, and palladium) in their fabrication processes will be billed for precious metal consumed during deposition. The Thermionics ebeam Evaporator and Glovebox RH Evaporator gold usage will be billed based on the mass of material consumed at the price of the material when purchased. The CHA ebeam Evaporator precious metals will be billed per 500A of deposition at 60% of the price of the material when purchased. 

LPCVD LTO: All academic users will be charged an additional materials fee of $154 per 100 nm of SiO2 and this fee is not included in the monthly cap.