The new Microfab Lab is an addition to the older micromanufacturing laboratory of the Microsystems Group (Mechanical Engineering). It has biological facilities for growing cells. “Having a lab where we can combine several technologies is quite special in itself”, says Professor Jaap den Toonder of Microsystems, “but being able to work with both technical materials and biological ones is definitely unique”.

The new lab is six hundred square meters and includes a cleanroom-like environment for the manufacturing of microsystems using lithographic techniques. There’s a laser department for pattern making and material analysis. And now there’s an all-new cell laboratory for biological experiments, and a general manufacturing area with 3D printers, a CO₂ laser cutter, and other equipment that enables users to make quick prototypes. Finally, the Microfab Lab includes an ‘experimenting room’ to test microdevices that are made elsewhere in the lab.