Adam RollinsThis story was originally published in the Government Contracting Pipeline newsletter from Strategic Partnerships, Inc. To have the latest government contracting news stories from across the country delivered straight to your inbox, click here to subscribe.
The U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) will make $100 million available to develop artificial intelligence (AI) R&D and technologies to advance sustainable semiconductor materials and processes. The DOC anticipates opening the competition in the fourth quarter of 2024. The program will allocate at least two large awards.
The Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) will support efforts to secure the long-term efficacy and viability of domestic semiconductor manufacturing. This NOFO builds on the nation’s CHIPS and Science Act to support semiconductor sustainability while improving microelectronic power, performance, area and cost metrics.
Recipients will accelerate innovative solutions to sustainably produce chips and materials that meet the semiconductor industry’s needs. The competition specifically prioritizes R&D of AI-powered autonomous experimentation (AI/AE) designed to achieve certain goals. These goals include:
- Improving leading-edge product performance.
- Improving manufacturing energy and water efficiency, manufacturing yield and supply chain resiliency.
- Reducing manufacturing emission and waste by developing materials and process alternatives.
The projects will be proof-of-concept that sustainable semiconductor materials and processes can meet industry standards and be ready for testing within five years. AI/AE can potentially accelerate the R&D process to more quickly and efficiently evaluate and plan experimental campaigns. These technologies merge automated synthesis and characterization tools with an AI planner to design materials and acquire relevant data.
The current state of the semiconductor industry stands to fall behind competitively as demand skyrockets. Uncovering novel methods to increase production while minimizing the impact to the environment and public health is needed to ensure the U.S. remains a global leader.
The competition will be open for industry-informed, university-based AI/AE semiconductor collaborations. The DOC expects the program results will be relevant and translatable to other CHIPS Act funded programs, including the National Semiconductor Technology Center (NSTC) and CHIPS Manufacturing USA Institute.
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