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    Here at the University of Florida we merged the fabrication and
    characterization facilities 13yrs ago.  Neither side "pulls its own
    weight" and the facility as a whole is subsidized by the college and
    university.  The characterization side has a high cost of operation
    due to all the service contracts where as the fabrication side tends
    to perform a lot of repairs in house.  Our characterization side
    brings in more revenue than our fabrication side but has these
    higher expenses.  So it becomes a wash.<br>
    <br>
    To back up Iulian's comments, each instrument or tool (service line)
    is considered independent in a rate review so surplus revenue from
    one service line cannot be used to offset a cost from another
    service line.<br>
    <br>
    Good topic for a happy hour at UGIM.  The fiscal side is too painful
    to discuss without a beer/wine. ;)<br>
    <br>
    Best Regards,<br>
    Brent
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    <br>
    <div class="moz-cite-prefix">On 5/29/2026 7:29 AM, Iulian Codreanu
      wrote:<br>
    </div>
    <blockquote type="cite" cite="mid:61243ffc-65b3-45f3-8cc8-1ea5cddfe967@udel.edu">
      
      <div><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#FA4616"><b>[External
            Email]</b></span>
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      <div>Hi Mac,<br>
        <br>
        Here at UDel the fabrication lab and imaging/characterization
        lab are operated separately so I cannot provide direct input but
        I have a general comment; you are likely aware of this (and it
        likely does not apply to you) so it is mostly for folks who are
        new to the field.  <br>
        <br>
        When these labs are operated as independent service centers,
        federal rules prevent subsidies within and across service
        centers. A tool is not allowed to subsidize another tool within
        a service center and a service center is prohibited from
        subsidizing another.<br>
        <br>
        Cheers,<br>
        <br>
        Iulian
        <pre class="moz-signature" cols="72">iulian Codreanu, Ph.D.
Director, Nanofabrication Facility
University of Delaware
Harker ISE Lab, Room 163
221 Academy Street
Newark, DE 19716
302-831-2784
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://udnf.udel.edu/" originalsrc="https://udnf.udel.edu/" moz-do-not-send="true">https://udnf.udel.edu</a></pre>
        <br>
        <div class="moz-cite-prefix">On 5/28/2026 10:58 AM, Hathaway,
          Malcolm R wrote:<br>
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        <blockquote type="cite" cite="mid:MN2PR07MB6526D701BD0EA51A04464CA4CB092@MN2PR07MB6526.namprd07.prod.outlook.com">
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            Hey All,</div>
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            Happy Summer!</div>
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            A question has come up here about relative expenditures and
            subsidy levels between fabrication labs and
            imaging/characterization labs, in core centers where such
            functionality is combined.  Here at Harvard we have all
            three under one roof at CNS.</div>
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            I did a <a href="https://nanobot.chat/" originalsrc="https://nanobot.chat/" id="OWA1f8547c0-a6cd-ab7b-b06c-f4120009aaa1" class="OWAAutoLink moz-txt-link-freetext" data-auth="NotApplicable" moz-do-not-send="true">
              https://nanobot.chat/</a>search around this topic but
            didn't find much.  (nanobot.chat is an AI enabled search of
            Labnetwork, for those who may not have heard about it).</div>
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            <br>
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            I seem to remember this or a similar topic being addressed
            at a previous UGIM meeting, but my recollection is hazy...</div>
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            <br>
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            Thus, a few questions:</div>
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            How many core centers combine Imaging and Characterization
            and Fabrication (cleanroom) under one umbrella?</div>
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            <br>
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            For those that do combine them, do you generally find that
            each section is able to "pull its own weight" financially? 
             Does either one ever "break even"?</div>
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            <br>
          </div>
          <div class="elementToProof" style="font-family: "Garamond", "Georgia", serif; font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">
            Is income from the nanofab used to subsidize
            imaging/characterization efforts, or vice versa?</div>
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            <br>
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            Is each unit financially independent and, as such, survives
            on partial subsidies from the university that are not
            considered collectively?</div>
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            <br>
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            And lastly, what sort of expense/income breakdown
            (percentage-wise) have you seen between such units, if they
            are treated collectively as one big core center.</div>
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            Apologies if this delves too deeply into sensitive fiscal
            areas.</div>
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            This might be a good topic for some sub-group at the
            upcoming UGIM, if it is not already on the agenda.</div>
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            Mac</div>
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            Mac Hathaway</div>
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            Systems, Process, and Characterization Engineer</div>
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            Harvard CNS</div>
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