Dive Brief:
- The first flagship CHIPS for America research and development facility will be in Albany, New York, the Department of Commerce and Natcast, the operator of the National Semiconductor Technology Center, announced on Thursday.
- The $825 million investment will help build two sites — an extreme ultraviolet (EUV) accelerator and a National Semiconductor Technology Center, both to operate within the non-profit NY Creates’ Albany NanoTech Complex.
- The government aims to improve EUV lithography tools, which are vital for producing smaller, faster and more efficient microchips, according to the release. It also enables high-volume production of transistors smaller than seven nanometers, a level once considered unattainable.
Dive Insight:
The EUV accelerator’s initial operations are expected to begin in 2025, with standard EUV tools available by that time and high numerical aperture EUV lithiography in 2026.
Other federal semiconductor R&D facilities are still under construction. The CHIPS NSTC prototyping facility, the National Advanced Packaging Manufacturing Program advanced packaging piloting facility, and the CHIPS administrative and design facility are still in development. Natcast plans to share details in the coming months on the selection process for affiliated technical centers.
“This will help ensure advancements in semiconductors that will shape the next century are stamped ‘Made in America’ and not developed and made in places like China,” said Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer in a NY Creates press release. “Today, Uncle Sam is saying that Albany NanoTech is THE place for developing the next frontier of America’s technological future.”
The choice to turn New York into the flagship state for semiconductor R&D was partially due to a $10 billion commitment towards the industry from Gov. Kathy Hochul in December 2023. The governor agreed to establish partnerships with several chip giants such as IBM, Micron, Applied Materials, Tokyo Electron and others for semiconductor research and development at NY Creates’ nanotech complex.
New York is home to 150 semiconductor and supply chain companies that employ over 34,000 workers, according to the NY Creates release.
NY Creates also just received a $4.7 million grant from the National Science Foundation to train college students and instructors for working at the nanotech complex. The funding, called the Education Alliance for Semiconductor Experiential Learning program, aims to to fulfill the CHIPS & Science Act's projected need for 280,000 jobs, especially technician roles.
