Research funding

NSF Allocates Multimillion-Dollar Funding for Semiconductor-Related Research

The National Security Foundation and its partner companies have allocated $45.6 million to fund semiconductor technologies and manufacturing developments.

The funding round supports 24 research and education projects under the NSF’s Future of Semiconductors program. The projects are split into three topics: collaborative research in domain-specific computing; advanced function and high performance by heterogeneous integration; and new materials for energy-efficient, enhanced-performance and sustainable semiconductor-based systems.

Several universities across the United States will receive funding to pursue their respective projects, including microelectronics enhancements, artificial intelligence, high-performance computing, sensing and semiconductors, NSF said Thursday.

The FuSe program seeks to fund research, education and workforce development supporting the country’s semiconductor design and manufacturing capabilities. The aim is to use a holistic co-design approach to rapidly create high-performance, robust and efficient semiconductors.

The latest announcement is one of several funding rounds from the foundation.

Earlier in September, the NSF invested $120 million over five years to support four science and technology centers working on various fields, including environmental science and advanced manufacturing. In August, the foundation awarded 18 research teams $29 million in total to explore quantum sensor technologies and how they can be used in health care, geological surveys and other fields.