Micro and Nanotechnology Laboratory

Micro and Nanotechnology Laboratory
Name	Micro and Nanotechnology Laboratory
Established	1967
Type	Research facility
Location	Urbana, Illinois
Campus	University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign
Director	[Not linked per instructions]
Website	[Not linked per instructions]

Micro and Nanotechnology Laboratory The Micro and Nanotechnology Laboratory is a multidisciplinary research facility located within University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign. It supports work in microsystems, nanofabrication, and device integration and serves faculty from departments such as Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign), Materials Science and Engineering (University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign), Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, and Coordinated Science Laboratory. The laboratory interacts with national laboratories, industrial partners, and federal initiatives including National Nanotechnology Initiative, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, National Science Foundation, and U.S. Department of Energy.

Overview

The facility provides cleanrooms, characterization tools, and process development capabilities supporting investigators affiliated with Grainger College of Engineering, Carle Illinois College of Medicine, Institute for Genomic Biology, School of Molecular and Cellular Biology, and researchers connected to centers such as Information Trust Institute and National Center for Supercomputing Applications. Its portfolio spans collaborations with corporate partners including IBM, Intel, Qualcomm, Applied Materials, Texas Instruments, Micron Technology, Northrop Grumman, Boeing, GE Research, and Corning Incorporated. The laboratory hosts technology translation through entities like Research Park (University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign), Illinois Innovation Network, University of Illinois Research Park, and participates in regional initiatives such as Startup Illinois and Midwest Energy Research Consortium.

History and Development

Founded amid growth in microfabrication, the facility evolved with contributions from faculty associated with Paul Braun, John Bardeen, Nick Holonyak Jr., Morton Minsky, Ray Wu, and collaborators from institutions including Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University, California Institute of Technology, Carnegie Mellon University, Princeton University, Cornell University, and Harvard University. Funding and milestones involved agencies and programs like National Institutes of Health, Office of Naval Research, DARPA Young Faculty, Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy, and awards such as the MacArthur Fellowship, National Medal of Technology and Innovation, and Fellow of the IEEE distinctions held by affiliated researchers. Infrastructure expansion paralleled initiatives like Microelectronics and Computer Technology Corporation and national trends exemplified by Sematech and the International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors.

Facilities and Equipment

Equipped with class 10 to class 1000 cleanrooms, the laboratory houses tools for lithography, deposition, etching, and metrology. Major systems include steppers and scanners from vendors like ASML Holding, Nikon Corporation, and Canon Inc., electron-beam lithography tools akin to systems used at Sandia National Laboratories, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and Argonne National Laboratory, and focused ion beam systems similar to those at Los Alamos National Laboratory. Deposition and thin-film systems have provenance related to Applied Materials, Lam Research Corporation, Kurt J. Lesker Company, and Oxford Instruments. Characterization instruments include transmission electron microscopes comparable to those at National Institute of Standards and Technology, scanning electron microscopes used in IBM Research, atomic force microscopes related to developments by Cleveland Clinic collaborators, and spectroscopy suites resonant with capabilities at Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Metrology and packaging capabilities enable work in cryogenics associated with Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory and microfluidics paralleling platforms at Wyss Institute.

Research Areas and Applications

Research spans microelectromechanical systems connected to projects at NASA, nanoelectronics influenced by advances from Intel Research, quantum devices studied alongside Google Quantum AI, and biosensors related to efforts at Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Mayo Clinic. Work includes semiconductor device engineering aligned with GlobalFoundries, CMOS integration reminiscent of TSMC roadmaps, and photonics research tied to Bell Labs and Nokia Bell Labs legacies. Applications address energy harvesting with partners like National Renewable Energy Laboratory, battery materials research reflecting collaborations with Argonne National Laboratory, and flexible electronics linked to E Ink Corporation and Samsung Electronics. Projects extend to medical devices with clinicians from Stanford Medicine, Johns Hopkins Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, and commercialization pathways through Y Combinator, Techstars, and Kleiner Perkins-affiliated ventures.

Education and Outreach

The laboratory supports graduate training in programs such as Microelectronics Center of North Carolina-style consortia, doctoral research within Grainger College of Engineering, and coursework connected to Department of Materials Science and Engineering (University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign). Outreach includes workshops for K–12 students in partnership with Carle Health outreach, summer research experiences modeled on Research Experiences for Undergraduates, and entrepreneurship training alongside IllinoisVentures and EnterpriseWorks (Illinois). The lab contributes to professional development through short courses similar to those at IEEE Education Society, Optica, and American Society for Engineering Education.

Collaborations and Partnerships

Longstanding partnerships include linkages with national laboratories such as Argonne National Laboratory, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Sandia National Laboratories, and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory; academic collaborators at University of California, Berkeley, University of Michigan, Georgia Institute of Technology, Purdue University, Northwestern University, and Columbia University; and industry engagements with Intel Corporation, IBM, Samsung, Qualcomm Incorporated, Microsoft Research, Amazon Web Services, Google LLC, Apple Inc., Ford Motor Company, and General Motors. The lab participates in consortia including Semiconductor Research Corporation, NVIDIA Research, Consortium for Process Intensification, and regional economic programs such as Economic Development Administration initiatives and state offices like Illinois Science & Technology Coalition.

Category:University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign research centers