A first working prototype
Turn a design into a real device you can test, show to investors and learn from.
Newcastle University · North East England
From idea to working prototype at the micro and nano scale.
Great Northeast Nanofab (GNN) is a new micro- and nano-fabrication facility being established by Newcastle University. It is being set up to help companies and researchers design, make and test devices less than a millionth of a metre wide, and to prove them before committing to manufacture.
Zoom calls on Tuesdays and Thursdays, 10:30–15:00 UK time. No pitch and no pressure.
5
universities A hub in Newcastle, with spokes at Durham, Northumbria, Sunderland and Teesside
< 1 µm
feature scale Devices and components less than a millionth of a metre wide
20
companies North East high-tech companies supporting the facility
£3M
government grant Matching Newcastle University’s investment
What you could achieve
Prove it at small scale, then scale up with confidence
GNN is being set up for the stage between an idea and a manufacturable product: the work that is hard to do without a specialist ultra-clean environment.
A process you can transfer
Develop and document the fabrication steps, so a foundry or production partner can pick them up.
A short pilot batch
Make a small run of devices for trials, field tests or early customer samples.
Data to decide on
Image and measure films, surfaces and structures to see what works and what to change.
Inside the facility
A cleanroom toolset, being recommissioned in Newcastle
The facility’s toolset spans lithography, etching, thin-film deposition, thermal and wet processing, polymers, dicing, packaging and metrology.
The tools are being recommissioned, and access arrangements and processes are being confirmed by Newcastle University. Tell us what you need, and we will tell you honestly what can be done.
Equipment at the Newcastle cleanroom, November 2026
Explore GNN
Everything in one place
Find out what the facility is, what it can do, who it is for and how to get involved.
About GNN
A regional facility for prototyping and development, and for skills.
Capabilities
Headline tools, process areas and the outcomes they can support.
Markets
Ten markets, from microfluidics and MEMS to photonics and 2.5D packaging.
Work with us
Talk to us, scope it, try a project, then ongoing access.
The network
One facility, five universities across the North East.
27–28 Jan 2027GNN Conference 2027
An industry and academic conference in Newcastle. Register your interest or offer to speak.
Markets
Built for the technologies that matter to the region
- Microfluidics and lab-on-chip
- MEMS and sensors
- Piezo and ferroelectric devices
- Biomedical and flexible electronics
- Packaging and die-attach prototyping
- Silicon process development
- Compound semiconductor, power and RF
- Quantum and superconducting devices
- Photonics and integrated optics
- Interposers and RDL (2.5D packaging)
Working on something at the micro or nano scale?
Tell us what you need. It helps the team understand what would be most useful to companies, and it helps build the case for further funding.