Research
ECS has some of the best research facilities in the UK and Europe. The research ethos of ECS has always depended on providing its researchers with the best possible environment in which to undertake their research.
The New Mountbatten Building
The New Mountbatten Building, which opened in October 2008, is one of Europe’s leading multidisciplinary state-of-the-art cleanroom complexes, providing flexible research space for nanotechnology and photonics. The building acts as a research base for the ECS Nano research group, for the Southampton Nanofabrication Centre, and for the Optoelectronics Research Centre.
- Learn more about New Mountbatten
- The New Mountbatten Open Data has more information about the facilities.
Bioelectronics Laboratory
The Bioelectronics group, part of the Nanoelectronic and Nanotechnology group, has its own laboratory and clean room in the University’s Chemistry Building. The group, led by Professor Hywel Morgan, is developing optical bio-sensing techniques, including surface Plasmon resonance miscroscopy (SPRM) to measure and image the interaction of proteins and cells with surfaces.
Computing facilities
ECS has its own wireless network and provides all its postgraduate students with excellent computing equipment and facilities.
Biometrics Laboratory
Located in Building 1
The lab is used primarily for collecting biometric data. We acquire images of a walking subject, the subject`s face and the subject`s ear. (We pioneered using gait as a biometric and were amongst the first to show that people can be recognised by their ear shape.) The gait images are multiview and acquired in controlled lighting, enabling 3D reconstruction of the walking subject acquired again in controlled lighting; the face images are acquired as the subject walks towards the camera; the ear image is single shot acquired using a flash. The background is patterned chromakey, allowing calibration and matteing.
Clean Rooms - Nanofabrication
Located in New Mountbatten
The Southampton Nanofabrication Centre is a state-of-the-art facility for microfabrication and high-spec nanofabrication, as well as a wide range of characterisation capabilities housed in the new Mountbatten Complex at the University of Southampton. One of the premiere cleanrooms in Europe, the Centre has a uniquely broad range of technologies, combining traditional and novel top down fabrication with state-of-the-art bottom up fabrication. This allows us to develop and produce a wide range of devices in diverse fields such as electronics, nanotechnology and bionanotechnology and incorporate them into an equally comprehensive array of nano and microsystems for analysis and use. The characterisation capability is similarly extensive catalogue of microscopes and test gear, from nanometre resolution scanning microscopes to electrical, magnetic and RF analysis. A detailed equiment list can be found at www.southampton-nanofab.com
ECS - Characterisation (Measurement)
Located in New Mountbatten
The clean room provides a range of characterisation equipment for device and material characterisation. Plan view imaging of a sample surface can be performed using field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), helium ion microscopy and scanning probe microscopy. Cross-section imaging can be achieved by first making a cross-sectional cut using the focussed ion beam (FIB) system and then imaging in-situ using field emission scanning electron microscopy.
The Tony Davies High Voltage Laboratory
Located in High Voltage Laboratory
The Tony Davies HV Laboratory is an active centre for research into dielectric materials and insulation systems, as well as high voltage and related phenomena. We are also a commercial testing house and consultancy service. It is equipped with state-of-the-art facilities, supported by a specialist engineering team who are all actively involved in internationally leading research.