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Research & Development Programs

Photo of researcher in clean room suit holding a chip with the four verticals of research and development appearing along the side of the image: NSTC, NAPMP, Manufacturing USA, and Metrology
Credit: CHIPS for America

CHIPS R&D Notice of Funding Opportunities (NOFO)

CARISSMA

CHIPS AI/AE for Rapid, Industry-informed Sustainable Semiconductor Materials and Processes (CARISSMA) Competition

Learn more about the CARRISMA NOFO here.

NAPMP NOFO 2

On October 18, 2024, the U.S. Department of Commerce issued a NOFO to enable the United States semiconductor industry to adopt innovative new advanced packaging flows for semiconductor technologies. CHIPS for America anticipates making available up to approximately $1.6 billion for funding multiple awards across five research and development (R&D) areas with the potential for follow-on funding for prototyping activities.

The five R&D areas are:

  1. Equipment, Tools, Processes, and Process Integration  
  2. Power Delivery and Thermal Management  
  3. Connector Technology, Including Photonics and Radio Frequency (RF)  
  4. Chiplets Ecosystem  
  5. Co-design/Electronic Design Automation (EDA)  

Mandatory concept papers are due December 20, 2024. Concept papers received after this deadline will not be reviewed or considered.

Learn more about the NAPMP NOFO 2 here. 

The purpose of the CHIPS Research and Development (R&D) programs is to advance the development of semiconductor technologies and to enhance the competitiveness of the U.S. semiconductor industry.  The CHIPS R&D programs have three goals: 

  1. Establish the capacity to invent, develop, prototype, and deploy the foundational semiconductor technologies of the future – here in America.  ​
  2. Accelerate ideas to market. We want the best ideas to achieve commercial scale as quickly and cost effectively as possible, and  ​
  3. Contribute to a robust semiconductor workforce. We want enough inventors, designers, researchers, developers, engineers, technicians, and staff to meet the needs of government and commercial sectors.     ​

The CHIPS R&D programs address five cross-cutting issues that we identified through interactions with stakeholders: 

  1. Access to facilities and equipment for late-stage R&D and prototyping​
  2. Advanced packaging and testing​
  3. Advanced metrology​ and characterization
  4. Advanced manufacturing technology
  5. Workforce development​

To address these semiconductor R&D ecosystem gaps, CHIPS for America invests $11 billion in four integrated entities, all of which include some aspect of workforce training. These programs will share infrastructure, participants, and projects. They will operate in coordination with each other, with the CHIPS Incentives Program, and with microelectronics R&D programs supported by other U.S. federal agencies. ​CHIPS R&D programs will be informed by industry’s needs, and innovations from the R&D programs will accelerate innovation and increase competitiveness in the American semiconductor industry and establish our leadership in the sector for decades to come. 

Man in a clean suit in the nanofab
The NIST Nanofabrication Facility in an ultraclean wing of the Advanced Measurement Laboratory.
Credit: Courtesy HDR Architecture, Inc./Steve Hall © Hedrich Blessing
  • National Semiconductor Technology Center – A public-private consortium that will serve as the focal point for semiconductor research for the nation.  Learn more about the NSTC's vision and strategy
  • CHIPS National Advanced Packaging Manufacturing Program – The U.S. needs to develop the capability to package chips together in multiple dimensions with a variety of functions—known as advanced packaging—to regain and maintain leadership in semiconductor manufacturing. The NAPMP and NSTC will work closely together.  Learn more about the NAPMP vision
  • CHIPS Manufacturing USA InstituteCHIPS for America will fund a new Manufacturing USA institute dedicated to digital twin technology for semiconductor manufacturing technologies, and related workforce training.   
  • CHIPS Metrology – NIST will conduct the measurement science, or metrology, critical to the development of new materials, packaging, and production methods for semiconductors. NIST will also work on reference materials, reference data, and calibrations for the precision equipment used in chip manufacturing, and advise on the development of standards for processes and cybersecurity.  

The CHIPS for America R&D programs are guided by the Industrial Advisory Committee.

One-year progress report: CHIPS Research and Development programs.

CHIPS R&D Projects

Advanced Metrology to Enable Next Generation EUV Photoresists

Ongoing
EUV (extreme ultraviolet) lithography, the technology that “saved Moore’s Law,” is widely regarded as the future of cutting-edge nanofabrication. It was developed in the United States and U.S. companies in many parts of the EUV ecosystem have established dominance in the field that must be defended