The US Department of Commerce and Natcast, operator of the National Semiconductor Technology Center (NSTC), has awarded an undisclosed amount of funding for three R&D facilities under the CHIPS and Science Act.
The facilities include an NSTC prototyping and National Advanced Packaging Manufacturing Program (NAPMP) advanced packaging piloting facility, an NSTC administrative and design facility, and an NSTC Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) center.
The administrative and design facility will support advanced semiconductor research in chip design, electronic design automation, chip and system architecture, and hardware security, and is expected to be operational in 2025.
Meanwhile, the NSTC EUV center, slated to open in 2026, will provide access to EUV technology, with the NAPMP advanced packaging piloting facility, which will provide research and development prototyping and NAPMP packaging capabilities in a single facility, following in 2028.
Further information about the process for selecting affiliated technical centers is expected to be announced at a later date.
The US National Institute of Standards and Technology said the investment would help solve “the most challenging problems in microelectronics” and accelerate innovation, create differentiation in the semiconductor ecosystem, and foster and grow the country’s future semiconductor workforce.
“To reclaim America’s semiconductor leadership, we can’t just invest in manufacturing capacity, we also need to supercharge our research and development ecosystem,” said US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo.
“The National Semiconductor Technology Center and National Advanced Packaging Manufacturing Program are critical components in making that happen, and with the facilities CHIPS for America will be funding we will drive innovation and help recruit and train the next generation of American semiconductor workers.”
The $280 billion CHIPS and Science Act was approved by Congress in July 2022, with $52bn of the overall funding package designated as subsidies for US semiconductor supply.
Funding from the act has also been earmarked for semiconductor R&D, growing a skilled semiconductor workforce, and incentives for the manufacturing of semiconductors and specialized tooling equipment.
To date, the US government has allocated more than $35bn in direct funding from the Act to companies including GlobalFoundries, Intel, TSMC, Samsung Electronics, and Micron. In April, Raimondo said she expected all the grant money under the CHIPS Act to be allocated by the end of 2024.
RVM is the first women-and minority-owned business set to receive funding under the Act.
