About our Cleanroom
The HMNTL cleanroom hosts state-of-the-art equipment for nanoscale fabrication of photonic and electronic devices, ranging from high-speed lasers for data communication to ferroelectric transistors for machine learning. Since its founding, the HMNTL cleanroom has specialized in the fabrication of high-performance III-V and III-N lasers, LEDs, transistors, and detectors, while simultaneously expanding to broader materials systems (e.g., LiNbO3, Ga2O3, 2D materials, diamond, AlN, etc.) and applications (e.g., artificial intelligence, quantum information, bio-sensing). In the past several years, HMNTL, the Grainger College of Engineering, and the UIUC campus have made investments exceeding $10M to upgrade cleanroom equipment and support facilities. Recent highlights include the 2021 installation of an Elionix ELS-G150 electron beam lithography system capable of patterning 4 nm features on wafers up to 200 mm in diameter. In addition to training for academic and industrial users, HMNTL offers staff-assisted R&D, enabling researchers to tap into our outstanding facilities and expert research engineering staff.