INDUSTRY NEWS

Industry, government launch 'ambitious' university-based chip R&D program

Calling it the "most ambitious research project" since Sematech's formation, the U.S. semiconductor industry and the federal government have established a program to meet the technological challenges posed by next-generation chip manufacturing. The new Focus Center Research Program will funnel millions of dollars through research contracts to university consortia for advancing IC design, testing, and interconnection.

The program's backers are negotiating with the University of California at Berkeley and the Georgia Institute of Technology to set up the first two centers. Financing for the program will be provided by the member companies of SIA and SEMI/Sematech and by DARPA. If the program's backers determine the first two centers are successful, they hope to establish additional R&D focus centers at four other universities in the U.S.

When fully operating, the program will have an annual budget of approximately $60 million, with 75% of the tab picked up by industry and the remaining 25% paid for by DARPA. The money will be used to pay student and faculty salaries, purchase equipment, and renovate facilities. In addition to advanced interconnect, the program may explore processes such as UV and x-ray lithography.

The Microelectronics Advanced Research Corp. (MARCO), a new subsidiary of the Semiconductor Research Corp. (SRC), will manage the program for the semiconductor industry participants. DARPA and member companies through their respective organizations will be responsible for commercializing the ideas hatched in the university incubators.

The program is needed to ensure the future health of the U.S. microchip industry, backers assert. "A nationwide multiuniversity network of research centers . . . will help keep the United States and U.S. semiconductor firms at the front of the global microelectronics revolution. This program will help keep our country, economy, and industry strong," said Craig Barrett, president and CEO of Intel and the head of SIA's technology committee.

Larry Sumney, president and CEO of SRC, added that no single company has the resources to address "the increasing cost and complexity of research and development in integrated circuit design and manufacturing." Equipment suppliers will have the opportunity "to interact closely with leading U.S. research universities to develop advanced technologies," added Paul Peercy, president of SEMI/Sematech.

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