The Biden-Harris Administration has announced $100m for research and development (R&D) activities that utilise artificial intelligence (AI) and autonomous experimentation (AE) for semiconductor manufacturing.
Part of the CHIPS and Science Act, the funding will be distributed in individual awards, ranging from $20m to $40m. It is thought that most of the funding will go to teams of universities and other research entities in the AI and AE space.
The funding will support new, sustainable semiconductor materials and processes that meet industry needs, that can also be designed and adopted for real-life testing within a five-year period.
US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, said, “Because of the Biden-Harris Administration’s CHIPS and Science Act, we are harnessing new cutting-edge technologies like AI/AE and creating a pipeline from lab to fab to out-run and out-innovate the rest of the world.”
“This research opportunity will bring industry the tools they need within five years and spur innovation in sustainability for years to come,” she added.
AI and AE combine automated synthesis and characterisation tools with an AI planner to determine the next round and an experimental campaign, vastly accelerating the design of new materials and the acquisition of materials data.
The technology has emerged as a “game-changing” approach to research with wide-ranging applications. AI/AE has the potential to create opportunities for collaborations across established research universities, emerging research institutions, industry, and national laboratories.
Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology and National Institute of Standards and Technology Director Laurie Locascio, said, “AI/AE facilitates virtual collaboration to solve difficult research problems, thereby lowering barriers to participation by emerging research institutions.”
“This ultimately strengthens our ability to engage a diverse workforce to solve the semiconductor industry’s greatest challenges.”
President Biden signed the CHIPS and Science Act, part of his Investing in America agenda, into law in August 2022, with the goal of strengthening US supply chains, creating good-paying jobs, protecting national security, and advancing US competitiveness.
Read more: President Biden signs $52bn CHIPS Act into law
Funding under the Act includes a $39bn grant programme for semiconductor manufacturers, as well as equipment and materials suppliers. It also includes $2bn for legacy chips, $13.2bn for R&D and workforce development, and $500m for international information and communication technology security and supply chain activities.
Last week, the US government finalised the rules for the the Advanced Manufacturing Investment Credit (CHIPS ITC) under the CHIPS and Science Act, which provides a 25% credit for qualified property in eligible facilities.
Announced by the US Department of the Treasury (Treasury) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the rules support President Biden’s agenda to usher in a new era of semiconductor manufacturing in the US.
Finalised rules state that the ITC is typically 25% of the cost of qualified property in an eligible taxpayer’s advanced manufacturing facility, as long as the property is put into use after 31st December 2022 and the construction started after the CHIPS and Science Act was passed on 9th August 2022.
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