About

Director's Welcome

Welcome to the University of Illinois Holonyak Micro + Nanotechnology Laboratory (HMNTL), one of the country's largest and most sophisticated university facilities for conducting photonics, microelectronics, biotechnology, and nanotechnology research. A crown jewel of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign’s Grainger College of Engineering, HMNTL is the place where campus researchers come to design, build, and test innovative nanoscale technologies with feature sizes that span the range of atoms to entire systems.

Our 16 cleanrooms, 46 general purpose labs, and a 2,500 square foot biosafety level-2 bionanotechnology complex contain all the tools researchers need to conduct their work. Major recent investments in our equipment and infrastructure have improved and expanded our research capabilities, including the installation of North America’s highest resolution e-beam lithography system

Originally opened in 1989 as the Microelectronics Laboratory, HMNTL was widely known for its excellence in III-V compound semiconductor device and processing research. An $18 million state-funded expansion in 2008 broadened our mission and capabilities to address challenges at the intersection of engineering and biology.

Today, HMNTL’s faculty and students are engaged in research that addresses many of the most pressing challenges facing our society. Going forward, HMNTL will build on its legendary cross-disciplinary legacy to be a world leader in research thrusts including: ultra-high speed electronics, photonics, quantum technologies, nanoscale low-power computing devices, power electronics, translational biotechnologies, and neurotechnologies. Please see our 2030 vision statement to learn more!