Welcome to the Micro/Nano Technology Center or the MNTC for short. You are probably listening to this audio tour on a smartphone or computer. A lot of the components in your smartphone are made or fabricated in a facility similar to the one you are standing in front of.

Our facility specializes in making MEMS devices or MicroElectroMechanical systems. These are small devices and sensors that help our everyday lives. Like a gyroscope. It changes the orientation of the screen on your smartphone when you turn it sideways to view a video. Other devices are pressure sensors that help predict the weather and accelerometers that help a car inflate its airbags during an accident.

These devices are made by adding and removing layers of different materials. This seems simple, but removing and adding materials in specific patterns lets us create very complex devices that perform useful functions. Typical devices have very small features and have to be made in a dust free environment. So, they are made in a special lab called a cleanroom. It gets its name because the amount of dust and particles floating in the air is very low.