UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — In an increasingly digital world, semiconductors, or “chips,” serve as the fundamental building blocks of everything from smartphones to supercomputers. The National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded Penn State and University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) researchers a three-year, $2 million grant to develop a wireless communications and sensing platform that leverages cutting-edge technology. awarded the Future of Semiconductors (FuSe2) grant. Chips and packaging, the process of placing, enclosing, and protecting semiconductor devices.
The team also includes Woolam Lee, associate professor of electrical engineering at Penn State. Madhavan Swaminathan, Professor, Chair of the Department of Electrical Engineering, and Director of the Center for Heterogeneous Integration of Microelectronic Systems (CHIMES), Penn State University. Mark Rodwell is a professor of electrical and computer engineering at UCSB.
Continuing research in semiconductor and packaging technology aims to push the boundaries of how quickly and effectively systems can process information, while reducing system size, reducing cost, and increasing energy efficiency. I’m here. As traditional silicon-based chips reach their limits, the focus is shifting to next-generation nanoscale materials that will enable the next wave of innovation in computing. The Penn State and UCSB team aims to focus on 6G technology, the ultra-short wave, high-speed successor to 5G networks, which is still in the early stages of research and development.
As the speed of data networks increases, Swaminathan explained, processing centers inside semiconductors must also improve their ability to handle this rapid influx of data. The challenge is to create semiconductors that are compatible with the high frequencies of 6G networks and even faster networks in the future.
“The key to achieving this is through an assembly line-like process in which individual components, each with unique functionality, are combined into a single advanced package, the physical case around a semiconductor chip. That is the case,” Swaminathan said.
This process, known as heterogeneous integration, enables the production of enhanced and highly functional miniature electronic devices that overcome limitations in performance, functionality, size and thermal management, he said.
The project will see Lee working on high-speed silicon-based integrated circuit designs, Swaminathan on advanced glass packaging, and Rodwell on designing the indium phosphide amplifiers needed to generate sufficient power at such high frequencies. will focus on. The researchers will work together to integrate the three technologies into one device.
“The proposed research will be the basis for 6G,” Lee said. “With 6G, the convergence of the physical, digital and human worlds will be seamlessly connected through advanced communication and sensing technologies, and the proposed research will implement this, including virtual reality, augmented reality, holographic telepresence, Transforming the way we live and work through self-driving cars.”
The team also plans to educate PhD-level scientists and engineers in various areas of semiconductor design and packaging, as well as offer short courses on specialized training in semiconductor manufacturing to students and industry professionals. . The most important goal, researchers say, is to infuse the U.S. semiconductor industry with experts, educators and skilled engineers.
“We are truly honored to receive this award to pursue fundamental research in new semiconductor technologies for advanced communications and sensing, and to train the semiconductor workforce of the future,” said Lee.
Swaminathan also expressed a similar opinion.
“It’s an honor to contribute to this field, which will continue to underpin how our society evolves in terms of communication, travel, and more,” Swaminathan said. “We deeply appreciate your support of this project.”
NSF’s FuSe2 program is a national initiative that will award approximately 20 awards of up to $2 million each in 2024. The program is aligned with the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022, a federal law that invests $52.7 billion in the development of the U.S. semiconductor industry.
