An MIT staff member writes, "MTL, or the Microsystems Technology Laboratories, is an interdepartmental laboratory supporting microsystems research across multiple disciplines, supported by an industrial consortium & shared research facilities. Located in Building 39, MTL is the only fabrication facility providing microsystems infrastructure to the institute.

"In the 1960s, MIT opted against having a silicon fabrication facility. Without fabrication facilities, MIT could not take students to the highest understanding and sophistication about integrated circuits (ICs). MIT agreed to build a facility in 1979, and in 1984, MTL opened for business. Some of the projects associated with MTL range from gas turbine engines the size of a shirt button to cyborg moths."