Future of Semiconductors (FuSe2)

Semiconductor microelectronic systems are at a crossroads. Continued advances in capabilities and reductions in costs across computing, sensing, and communications are threatened. Semiconductor technology has long advanced following the trends in miniaturization characterized by Moore’s Law, underpinned by new materials, processes, devices, and architectures. However, the developments in these underpinning areas have often progressed independent of the application area, which has delayed their incorporation into next-generation technologies. Closing this gap is required to optimize future progress. Semiconductor materials, devices, and computing must be optimally co-designed, with simultaneous consideration of elements across the technology chain.

The benefits of co-design to advance semiconductor technology have been widely recognized in a variety of government and industry studies. A holistic, co-design approach can more rapidly create high-performance, robust, secure, compact, energy-efficient, and cost-effective solutions. The technological drivers include the need to reduce the energy consumption of computation and communication technologies; reduce the impact of device and system manufacturing on the environment; increase performance speed and capacity; and develop new computing systems.

The goal of this Future of Semiconductors (FuSe2) solicitation is to cultivate holistic, co-design approaches to fundamental research and workforce education and training in order to enable rapid progress in new semiconductor technologies. The future of semiconductor manufacturing will require the design and deployment of diverse new technologies in materials, chemical and materials processes, devices, and architectures through the development of application-driven systems. Partnerships between industry and academic institutions are essential to spurring this innovation, enabling technology transfer, informing research infrastructure needs, and training the future workforce.

The program seeks to fund research as well as education and workforce development to improve science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education at the nation’s institutions of higher education, spanning two-year colleges and four-year universities including the minority-serving institutions with a goal to advance semiconductor design and manufacturing. NSF encourages bold, potentially transformative activities that address future semiconductor design and manufacturing challenges as well as shortages in the skilled scientists, engineers, and technician workforce. This solicitation encourages proposers to take a holistic perspective on workforce development, considering the participation of the full spectrum of diverse talent in STEM career paths, advanced technologies, and research capabilities. All proposals must include education and workforce development plans integrated with the proposed research activities. This solicitation seeks proposals to perform fundamental research to enable a new paradigm in semiconductor capabilities through research grants focused on co-design approaches. Teams of all sizes, with a minimum of a PI and a co-PI, are encouraged.

Future of Semiconductor Co-Design Research and Education Grants (FuSe2) - Awards will be supported in FY 2024 up to $2M per award for up to a three-year grant period, commensurate with project scope and team size. This program seeks to fund collaborative team research that transcends the traditional boundaries of individual disciplines to achieve program goals.

The three research topic areas identified for support in FY 2024 under this solicitation are:

Topic 1. Collaborative Research in Domain-Specific Computing.

Topic 2. Advanced Function and High-Performance by Heterogenous Integration.

Topic 3. New Materials for Energy-Efficient, Enhanced-Performance and Sustainable Semiconductor-Based Systems.

Details are provided under Program Description in Section II. Each proposal should explicitly identify at least one of these research topic areas in the title to focus on, though proposals which merge ideas from multiple topic areas are encouraged. Every proposal should address co-design covering at least two of the areas in the technology stack (materials, devices, and systems) in the research approach.

Please note that the program contact information is current at the time of publishing. See program website for any updates to the points of contact.