Full Service Rates

The KNI Laboratory offers full-service work for internal (Caltech/JPL) customers as well as external customers from industry, government, and academia. We welcome electron beam lithography requests, in addition to other device fabrication needs. Full-service work is project dependent on staff availability, timeline, and scope, and will be reviewed by KNI technical staff. This page covers the pricing for external full-service customers. Note: Internal customers (Caltech/JPL) interested in full-service work: review the details here. KNI offers no guarantees for the end product.

Why KNI?

• Full process flows: resist coating through etch/deposition to final device, under one roof
• Experienced staff: fill-time expert engineers managing tools daily
• Caltech ecosystem: proximity to world-class research in photonics, quantum, and materials
• IP-secure: NDA option to protect ownership and inventorship rights

Application Areas

• Quantum devices — superconducting qubits, ion trap electrodes, single-photon sources
• Photonic integrated circuits — waveguides, grating couplers, ring resonators, metasurfaces
• AR/VR optics — diffractive waveguide masters, surface-relief gratings, metalenses
• RF & III-V devices — HEMT gates, fine-pitch test structures, GaAs/GaN/InP
• Sensors & MEMS — IR detectors, nanoelectromechanical systems, biomedical devices
• Mask fabrication — photomask writing for optical lithography step-and-repeat

Electron Beam Lithography Specifications

Accelerating Voltage	20/50/100 kV (normally operated at 100 kV)
Current Range	50 pA - 200 nA
Resolution	Sub-10 nm
Main Field Size	Up to 1 mm x 1 mm | 20-bit DAC
Max. Writing Frequency	100 MHz
Aperture Sizes	200, 300, and 400 µm (selection varies by system)
Substrate Handling	Piece parts (few mm to wafer scale), wafers up to 6", mask plates up to 6" ; 5200 expandable to 200 mm
Writing Modes	Non-aligned & aligned (direct-write) electron beam lithography
Data Preparation	GenISys Layout BEAMER & TRACER

Cost

The prices below are for industry customers (for-profit entities). If you are a non-Caltech academic or government customer, please contact us for the rates. Rates are effective October 1, 2025.

Resource	Hourly Rate (excluding admin fee)
Technical Staff Effort	$                                             200.00
EBPG 5000+ or 5200	$                                             442.00
Nova 600 FIB	$                                             255.00
III-V Cobra ALE Etcher	$                                             204.00
PlasmaPro PECVD (oxide, nitride)	$                                             204.00
FlexAL II ALD/ALE	$                                             170.00
Legacy PlasmaLab PECVD (silicon)	$                                             136.00
Legacy Oxford Etchers (DRIE, III-V, Dielectric)	$                                             136.00
Nanoscribe PPGT (2D/3D print)	$                                             17.00
Administrative Fee (per transaction)	$                                             340.00

Note: The prices shown here include Caltech's indirect cost rate.

How to Get Started

Send an email with your project description and timeline needs to kni@caltech.edu. We will review the request and send a price estimate based on the information provided. We require a purchase order to initiate the full-service work.