SRC, National Science Foundation award $20 million to fund US university research on nanoelectronics for 2020 and beyond

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, USA: Semiconductor Research Corp. (SRC), the world’s leading university-research consortium for semiconductors and related technologies, joined hands with the National Science Foundation (NSF) to fund $20 million for 12 four-year grants on nanoelectronics research.

These 12 interdisciplinary research teams at 24 participating US universities will contribute to the goal of discovering a new switching mechanism using nanoelectronic innovations as a replacement for today’s transistor—the foundational building block of computing technology that has driven not only the semiconductor industry, but the country’s IT-driven economy for decades.

“The search for a new semiconductor device that will provide the US with a leadership position in the global era of nanoelectronics relies on making discoveries at these kinds of advanced universities,” said Jeff Welser, director of the Nanoelectronics Research Initiative (NRI) for SRC. “These schools have the talent and capabilities needed to produce critical research that helps to raise both our national competitiveness and economic progress.”

Historically, chip manufacturers could double the number of transistors on a chip at half the power for each transistor by shrinking them smaller in each new generation of semiconductor technology. Recently, it has become more difficult to continue the decrease in power needed to switch transistors off and on, choking the pace of product innovation from scaling alone. New breakthroughs ranging from basic materials science and chemistry to advanced devices and circuit architecture will be required, making the partnership between NSF and industry a natural fit for this work.

“This competition, Nanoelectronics for 2020 and Beyond (NEB), is an important component of the National Nanotechnology Initiative Signature Initiative, whose goal is to accelerate the discovery and use of novel nanoscale fabrication processes and innovative concepts to produce revolutionary materials, devices, systems, and architectures to advance the field of nanoelectronics,” said Dr. Lawrence Goldberg, Senior Engineering Advisor at the National Science Foundation.

"The co-operation and support of industry in this effort through the Nanoelectronics Research Initiative of the Semiconductor Research Corporation also brings a significant perspective to the grantees' research with opportunities for mentoring of their students."