The science packs are crafted like:
5 copper plates + 5 iron plates = 2 science pack 1,
10 copper plates + 10 iron plates = 2 science pack 2,
15 copper plates + 15 iron plates = 2 science pack 3,
5 alien artifacts = 10 alien science packs.
There are 11 tiers of labs, 1 is unlocked at the start obviously, 2,3,4 are unlocked on research efficiency 2 (you still get the modifiers as well.) 5,6,7 on the next research, 8,9,10 on the next and 11 on the last.
Research speed starts at 0.75 and increases by 0.25 each tier. Power starts at 60kW at increases by 20kW each tier. Each tier has a different color (1,2,3 are the blue however 1 is darker than 2 which is darker than 3).
To craft tier 1, its the default and then each tier is 1 of the tier bellow and 10 of science pack 1 and 2.