Dear Colleague Letter: Supplemental Funding Requests to Conduct U.S.-South Korea Collaborative Research on Semiconductor Chips

February 20, 2024

Dear Colleague:

With this Dear Colleague Letter (DCL), the U.S. National Science Foundation's (NSF) Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE) and Directorate for Engineering (ENG) wish to notify the community of their intention to support supplemental funding requests for active research awards to conduct U.S.–South Korea Collaborative Research on semiconductor chips, ranging from devices to systems.

This collaborative research opportunity focuses on semiconductor chips supporting communications, sensing, control, and domain-specific computing, spanning (1) application domain (e.g., AI, next-G wireless, healthcare, transportation, power grid); (2) computing strategy domain (e.g., disaggregated systems, cloud-edge-IoT continuum, joint communication/sensing/computing); and (3) technology domain (e.g., emerging device technologies; heterogeneous and 3D integration; thermal management; in-memory computing; CMOS+X, where X can be any emerging technologies co-integrable with CMOS at both fine and coarse granularity), among other topics. Supplemental funding requests are expected to target awards made in the following programs:

Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering

• Division of Computing and Communication Foundations

  • Computer and Information Science and Engineering Core Programs (https://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=505667)

• Division of Computer and Network Systems

  • Computer and Information Science and Engineering Core Programs (https://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=505667)

Directorate for Engineering

• Division of Electrical, Communications and Cyber Systems

  • Addressing Systems Challenges through Engineering Teams (https://new.nsf.gov/funding/opportunities/addressing-systems-challenges-through-engineering)

  • Communications, Circuits, and Sensing-Systems (https://new.nsf.gov/funding/opportunities/communications-circuits-sensing-systems-ccss)

  • Electronics, Photonics and Magnetic Devices (https://new.nsf.gov/funding/opportunities/electronics-photonics-magnetic-devices-epmd)

  • Energy, Power, Control, and Networks (https://new.nsf.gov/funding/opportunities/energy-power-control-networks-epcn)

These supplemental funding requests are anticipated to be up to $100,000 but may not exceed 20% of the original award amount. Supplemental funding requests should add a new–or strengthen an existing–international dimension to the award. International collaboration should advance fundamental knowledge and discovery related to future semiconductor-based systems and enhance the NSF Principal Investigator's (PI) own research and/or education objectives as outlined in the existing NSF award. Supplemental funding requests should represent mutual benefit and true intellectual collaboration with South Korean partners.

It is expected that South Korean research collaborators will apply for complementary full-scale, 3-year awards from the Ministry of Science and Technology. South Korean researchers are invited to review the Integrated R&D Information System at https://www.iris.go.kr/main.do for more information.

By March 18, 2024, U.S. PIs must submit an EOI to skorea-SC-collab@nsf.gov.