The U.S. National Science Foundation today announced an initiative to translate low-dimensional semiconductor technologies from laboratory demonstrations into platforms for U.S. manufacturers to develop and deploy advanced microelectronics.

The NSF Ecosystem for Low-dimensional Electronics: Growth, Assembly, Nanoelectronics, and Translation (NSF ELEGANT) program will position the U.S. for success in translating advanced microelectronics technologies into next-generation capabilities for artificial intelligence, high-performance computing, advanced communications, and other key technology areas critical to national security and economic competitiveness.

“NSF ELEGANT aims to de-risk advanced microelectronics manufacturing technology to the point where industry can make a timely, credible, evidence-based commitment to its adoption,” said Erwin Gianchandani, NSF Assistant Director for Technology, Innovation and Partnerships. “Sustained industry participation is central to how this program is designed and measured — every performing team’s progress is validated by industry partners at each stage, so the technologies advancing through ELEGANT are the ones manufacturers are ready to adopt.”

Microelectronics powers industry and drives worldwide innovation. However, current microelectronics manufacturing methods are no longer able to keep pace with the demand for smaller-scale microelectronics technologies at the scale needed. The ELEGANT program advances innovation in low-dimension materials for semiconductor manufacturing and simultaneously bridges the gap between laboratory demonstrations and the development of industry-relevant platforms.

To achieve program objectives, NSF released an Other Transaction Agreement Solutions Offering (OTASO) seeking an Ecosystems Coordinator and Expert Performer Teams in five translation themes:

• Theme 1: Manufacturable Materials Platform.
• Theme 2: Process Technology and Process Design Kit.
• Theme 3: Device, Circuit and Full-Chip Demonstration.
• Theme 4: Manufacturing Readiness and Transition.
• Theme 5: AI-Enabled Acceleration.

To learn more, please visit the ELEGANT OTASO.

About NSF TIP  

The NSF Directorate for Technology, Innovation and Partnerships (NSF TIP) seeks to engage all Americans in accelerating critical and emerging technologies to advance U.S. competitiveness. The directorate partners across sectors to advance three strategies — accelerating critical and emerging technology, expanding the geography of American innovation, and building a competition-ready workforce. For more information about NSF TIP, visit nsf.gov/tip/latest.