ASU finalizes $1 billion in CHIPS Act funding
Arizona State University is set to receive more than $1 billion in CHIPS Act funding to accelerate advanced packaging research and development for the computer chip sector.
The U.S. Department of Commerce on Thursday announced it finalized agreements with ASU and plans to award the university with $1.1 billion to support the NSTC Prototyping and NAPMP Advanced Packaging Piloting Facility and $100 million for the SHIELD USA initiative.
“Today’s funding announcement advances a critical step for U.S. semiconductor independence and it is the area of expertise in which we are in direct competition with China to determine who will unlock the future of innovation in semiconductor chip manufacturing,” Michael Crow, president of ASU, said in a statement. “ASU is well prepared with a dynamic partner in Deca Technologies and we are eager to lead the work that will enable SHIELD USA to play a pivotal role in ensuring the country’s technological and economic future.”
The NSTC Prototyping and NAPMP Advanced Packaging Piloting Facility will be the country’s third flagship CHIPS for America research and development facility. It will combine 300mm silicon wafer research and prototyping for front-end manufacturing and chip packaging capabilities, playing a critical role in advancing semiconductor innovation across the country.
The facility will operate at 8240 S. River Parkway in Arizona State University’s Research Park in Tempe beginning in 2028, the Business Journal previously reported.
Deca Technologies part of SHIELD project
Meanwhile, the SHIELD USA initiative will use CHIPS Act funding to support an advanced packaging project led by a university research team and Deca Technologies, a Tempe-based advanced packaging technology provider.
SHIELD USA will spur creation of a domestic ecosystem of new advanced packaging service providers – or interconnect foundries – centered on molded core substrate and fan-out wafer-level packaging technologies, according to a university announcement.
Jason Conrad, chief operating officer of the Southwest Advanced Prototyping Hub and Craig Bishop, chief technology officer of Deca Technologies lead the SHIELD USA team.
The SHIELD USA project will be based at ASU’s MacroTechnology Works — home to the Advanced Electronics and Photonics Core Facility — where researchers will explore the commercial viability of 300-mm wafer-level and 600-mm panel-level manufacturing, a technology that does not yet exist as a commercial capability in the U.S., the Business Journal previously reported.
ASU’s advanced packaging research award for the SHIELD USA project is part of a larger, $300 million funding announcement by the Department of Commerce. Other recipients include Georgia-based glass substrate manufacturer Absolics Inc. and Applied Materials Inc., a California-based semiconductor supplier.
The Department of Commerce announced in November it entered into a preliminary agreement with ASU for the CHIPS Act funding to support the SHIELD USA initiative. Earlier this month, federal officials and ASU unveiled plans for the NSTC Prototyping and NAPMP Advanced Packaging Piloting Facility, but did not disclose a total investment amount for the project. Funding details for the prototyping portion of the NSTC project are still being finalized and will be released at a later date, an ASU spokesperson told the Business Journal.
All told, the Department of Commerce said Thursday it will disburse more than $1.4 billion in CHIPS Act funding to bolster U.S. advanced packaging capabilities.
“These CHIPS for America investments and CHIPS research and development flagship facilities will strengthen our end-to-end semiconductor ecosystem and help close the gap between invention and commercialization to ensure the United States is a global leader in semiconductor innovation and manufacturing,” Gina Raimondo, U.S. Secretary of Commerce, said in a statement.