The U.S. Department of Commerce (DoC) announced several CHIPS and Science Act funding deals this week including the establishment of what it calls an R&D flagship facility that will operate out of the NY Creates’ Albany NanoTech Complex in Albany, New York.
Additionally, the DoC has opened a $100 million competition aimed at progressing R&D and artificial intelligence technologies for semiconductor materials.
The flagship facility will see an investment of about $825 million for the extreme ultraviolet (EUV) accelerator, which will be part of the National Semiconductor Technology Center (NSTC), the so-called centerpiece of the CHIPS Act’s $11 billion R&D program. The EUV Accelerator will focus on, naturally, the advancement of next-generation EUV lithography technology and the R&D that relies on it.
EUV lithography is critical for semiconductors to push the limits of Moore’s Law and move high-volume production of transistors beyond 7, something previously not achievable. The DoC said EUV lithography R&D is essential to meet three goals:
- Extend U.S. tech leadership
- Reduce the time and cost to prototype
- Build and sustain a chip workforce
NY Creates’ campus is a public-owned 300 mm chip R&D center and has already a $1 billion investment through the state government. The EUV accelerator will begin initial operations in 2025 and allow NSTC members and NY Creates to conduct R&D activities to enable faster commercialization of chip technology.
Specifically, the EUV accelerator will aim to spur collaboration with industry, academic and government partners; a dedicated NSTC on-site office; Support the growing of an engineering workforce; grow membership in NSTC; and allow access to cutting-edge EUV lithography tools.
Beyond the NSTC
While the NSTC is the main R&D pipeline of the CHIPS Act, the Department of Commerce is looking at other R&D funding programs under the $11 billion allotment including:
- National Advanced Packing Manufacturing Program
- CHIPS Metrology Program
- CHIPS Manufacturing USA Institute
R&D competition
The other major news comes from the DoC for a funding opportunity through the CHIPS Act for AI and autonomous experimentation technologies for next generation chipmaking.
The $100 million funding opportunity through the CHIPS AI/AE for Rapid, Industry-informed Sustainable Semiconductor Materials and Processes (CARISSMA) program will be awarded to university teams and other reach entities developing AI-powered autonomous experimentation. Semiconductor industry partners and emerging research institutions and civil society organizations can also vie for funding.
The goal is to demonstrate new sustainable chip materials and processes that can be designed and implemented in the next five years.
