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. Full-service work is project dependent on staff availability, timeline, and scope, and will be reviewed by KNI technical staff.
KNI welcomes electron beam lithography requests, in addition to other device fabrication needs.
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
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.
To get started
Send an email with your project description and timeline 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.