Fabrication Services

Procedures and paperwork to get your students/employees into the Protofab.

Please choose the appropriate section:

Lab Orientation for All

The lab orientation takes between 1-2 hours and is scheduled based on new user demand. 

The orientation will explain actual facility use, equipment scheduling and trainings, discuss safety policy, enter users into the access system, tour the area and explain any questions.  Please feel free to contact us to discuss in more detail. See the below sections for the additional info needed to attend a lab orientation.

Onboarding for out-of-town visitors

For lab users visiting from out of town, please start your scheduling with us at least a week in advance so we can help you schedule an orientation and tool trainings around your planned trip dates, and help make your trip efficient and productive. Contact Arin Abed for advice on which tools to get trained on.

U.C. Santa Barbara Researchers

Applies to: UCSB faculty, post-docs, graduate students, undergraduates, interns etc.

• Contact the Facility Manager, Arin Abed for lab access.

Industry and non-U.C. Academic Institutions

Applies to: Employees of Companies (for-profit), and researchers from Universities/Academic Institutions that are not part for the University of California system. This includes Government research labs in any country.

Follow ALL instructions below:

If you think your institution has previously sent people to use our lab, some of this paperwork may already be in place. Contact the Facility Manager to find out if that is the case.

Paperwork for new Institutions (Non-UC)

For new institutions to gain access to the UCSB Prototyping Facility, please provide the following documents. Email the docs to both Claudia Gutierrez and the Facility Manager.

1. Submit a Project Description (download & fill) to the Facility Manager. Use Protofab Power Point Template for additional details if desired.
2. Nanofab staff acceptance.
3. UCSB Facility Use Agreement (download) signed by an official company signatory (attached form)
4. Provide a General Liability Insurance Certificate
   1. Commercial Form General Liability requirements:
      1. Combined Single Limit per Occurrence: $1,000,000
      2. General Aggregate, Bodily Injury, Property Damage: $2,000,000
      3.  The Regents of the University of California must be named as an additional insured.
      4. An example certificate is attached.  Your certificate should have the same basic format and information as shown. The certificate should be emailed to the Facility Manager.
      5. The CERTIFICATE HOLDER shall be identified as follows:  

         The Regents of the University of California

         Contracts & Property Office

         SAASB Bldg., Rm. 3203

         University of California

         Santa Barbara, CA 93106-2095

5. Provide Proof of Workers’ Compensation Insurance or equivalent coverage. This is required under California state law. If the required certificate of insurance is not received and approved prior to the Facility User's intended use of facility, Facility User shall not be allowed to use University facilities.

Tasks for each Lab User

For EACH researcher that will enter the lab, please follow these directions:

1. Fill out, sign, and return the UCSB Blanket Liability Waiver (download) to the Facility Manager.
2. Email Claudia Gutierrez to request a UCSBNetID (required) and to gain access to the UCSB Learning Center for basic on-line safety training.
3. Take the UCSB EH&S online safety course once you have gained access.
4. Request UCSB Nanofab orientation/training by the facility manager with review of the lab policy which can be found at the following link: Protofab Rules.

Other U.C. Campuses

Applies To: Researchers at other University of California campuses, apart from U.C Santa Barbara.

Follow ALL instructions below:

Paperwork for new UC institutions

For new UC institutions to gain access to the UCSB Nanofabrication Facility, please provide the following documents. Send the files to both Claudia Gutierrez and the Lab Director.

1. Submit a Detailed [Project Description] to Facility Manager. Use Protofab Power Point Template for additional details if desired.
2. Protofab staff acceptance.
3. Facilities Use - Memorandum of Understanding - Inter-UC Campus Use (download) - signed by Individual lab users. Attachment A Lists UCSB facilities covered by the agreement.

Tasks for each UC Lab User

For EACH researcher that will enter the lab, please follow these directions:

1. Fill out, sign, and return the UCSB Blanket Liability Waiver (download) to the Lab director
2. Email Claudia Gutierrez to request a UCSBNetID (required) and to gain access to the UCSB Learning Center for basic on-line safety training.
3. Take the UCSB EH&S online safety course once you have gained access.
4. Request UCSB Nanofab orientation/training by the lab manager with review of the lab policy which can be found at the following link: NanoFab Lab Rules

Fabrication Services by Protofab Staff

Perform fabrication services via NanoFab staff, instead of your staff/employees entering our lab.

Important Info on Fabrication Services

• Rates are listed here.
  • We bill for both "Use of Facility + Equipment" plus "Dedicated staff support" time per hour.
  • This is similar to your own employee using the lab.
  • The technical contact for all work performed by UCSB Nanofab staff must be an employee or paid contractor of the institution that has signed the service agreement with UCSB. -- New 2025-02
  • We will only apply Academic/Gov't rates if the technical contact directing the work is at the academic institution we have a signed service agreement with. -- New 2025-02
• You will work directly with Arin Abed or his staff to schedule the work, if the project is accepted.
  • Any project must first be accepted by our Project Scientists.
  • We have limited staff and are not a foundry, and we will only accept jobs that we are capable of performing with success.
• You will be billed for the Actual time and materials required during the job, regardless of project outcome.
  • We can provide only a rough estimate of time and cost because it's an hourly service, not a "quote".
• We send out bills monthly, with payment expected as Net30; Credit card payments are accepted.
• Publications Policy - Packaging executed by Protoab Staff is often significant "intellectual contribution". Acknowledgement of Protofab use is required at minimum.

Request Remote Packaging Services

Submitting jobs for "remote" packaging services requires the following steps:

1.  Contact us (email us) to determine project feasibility based on available tooling and material or ask questions.

2.  Protofab Staff will formally accept the project.

Paperwork for Packaging Services

3. Submit the Project Info and Description Form (<-download link) to Arin Abed and Claudia Gutierrez. Use Protofab Power Point Template for additional details if desired.

• No signatures required, only project info and contact info for internal billing purposes.
• UC Users - in the Project Description, you will have to provide a valid Recharge Account number to bill against.

4.  Return the UCSB Service Agreement (download)

• Requires signature from your institution (signature authority required, typically not the professor or graduate student. Business or Contracts Bept., for example)

• Only one agreement is needed per institution. Ask us to find out if your inst. already has one in place.
• NOT needed for UC Users.

Statement of Work (SOW)

For each request, please provide a quick PPT/Word/similar doc explaining exactly what you need done. Use Protofab Power Point Template for additional details if desired.

• Follow this naming format: "20xx-xx-xx_Project/Program Related Name_Vx"
  • Date will be used as BatchID.
  • Revisions will update only the v1, 2, 3, and etc. number but keep the BatchID the same.
• Include as much details as possible.
• Requested quantities (Deliverable and Practice Samples)