Semiconductor microelectronic systems are at a crossroads. Continued advances in capabilities and reductions in costs across computing, sensing, and communications are threatened. Semiconductor technology has long advanced following the trends in miniaturization characterized by Moore’s Law, underpinned by new materials, processes, devices, and architectures. However, the developments in these underpinning areas have often progressed independent of the application area, which has delayed their incorporation into next-generation technologies. Closing this gap is required to optimize future progress. Semiconductor materials, devices, and computing must be optimally co-designed, with simultaneous consideration of elements across the technology chain.
The benefits of co-design to advance semiconductor technology have been widely recognized in a variety of government and industry studies. A holistic, co-design approach can more rapidly create high-performance, robust, secure, compact, energy-efficient, and cost-effective solutions. The technological drivers include the need to reduce the energy consumption of computation and communication technologies; reduce the impact of device and system manufacturing on the environment; increase performance speed and capacity; and develop new computing systems.
The goal of this Future of Semiconductors (FuSe2) solicitation is to cultivate holistic, co-design approaches to fundamental research and workforce education and training in order to enable rapid progress in new semiconductor technologies. The future of semiconductor manufacturing will require the design and deployment of diverse new technologies in materials, chemical and materials processes, devices, and architectures through the development of application-driven systems. Partnerships between industry and academic institutions are essential to spurring this innovation, enabling technology transfer, informing research infrastructure needs, and training the future workforce.
The program seeks to fund research as well as education and workforce development to improve science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education at the nation’s institutions of higher education, spanning two-year colleges and four-year universities including the minority-serving institutions with a goal to advance semiconductor design and manufacturing. NSF encourages bold, potentially transformative activities that address future semiconductor design and manufacturing challenges as well as shortages in the skilled scientists, engineers, and technician workforce. This solicitation encourages proposers to take a holistic perspective on workforce development, considering the participation of the full spectrum of diverse talent in STEM career paths, advanced technologies, and research capabilities. All proposals must include education and workforce development plans integrated with the proposed research activities. This solicitation seeks proposals to perform fundamental research to enable a new paradigm in semiconductor capabilities through research grants focused on co-design approaches. Teams of all sizes, with a minimum of a PI and a co-PI, are encouraged.
Full Proposal Deadline: March 14, 2024
Future of Semiconductor Co-Design Research and Education Grants (FuSe2) - Awards will be supported in FY 2024 up to $2M per award for up to a three-year grant period, commensurate with project scope and team size. This program seeks to fund collaborative team research that transcends the traditional boundaries of individual disciplines to achieve program goals.
The three research topic areas identified for support in FY 2024 under this solicitation are:
Topic 1. Collaborative Research in Domain-Specific Computing.
Topic 2. Advanced Function and High-Performance by Heterogenous Integration.
Topic 3. New Materials for Energy-Efficient, Enhanced-Performance and Sustainable Semiconductor-Based Systems.
Proposals may only be submitted by the following:
- Non-profit, non-academic organizations: Independent museums, observatories, research laboratories, professional societies and similar organizations located in the U.S. that are directly associated with educational or research activities.
- Institutions of Higher Education (IHEs) - Two- and four-year IHEs (including community colleges) accredited in, and having a campus located in the US, acting on behalf of their faculty members.
- Tribal Nations: An American Indian or Alaska Native tribe, band, nation, pueblo, village, or community that the Secretary of the Interior acknowledges as a federally recognized tribe pursuant to the Federally Recognized Indian Tribe List Act of 1994, 25 U.S.C. §§ 5130-5131.
Who May Serve as PI:
By the submission deadline, any PI, co-PI, or other senior project personnel must hold either:
- a tenured or tenure-track position, or
- a primary, full-time, paid appointment in a research or teaching position with exceptions granted for family or medical leave, as determined by the submitting institution.
Individuals with primary appointments at for-profit non-academic organizations, or at overseas branch campuses of U.S. IHEs are not eligible.
Researchers from foreign academic institutions who contribute essential expertise to the project may participate as senior personnel or collaborators but may not receive NSF support.
An investigator who is a PI or co-PI of a FuSe award based on a proposal submitted in response to the previous FuSe solicitation, NSF 23-552, cannot be a PI or co-PI for this FuSe2 solicitation, but may serve as Senior Personnel. Proposals violating this limitation will be returned without review.
Limit on Number of Proposals per PI or co-PI: 1
Each FuSe2 project requires a minimum of one PI and one co-PI.
An investigator may serve as a PI, co-PI or Senior Personnel on only ONE proposal, including subawardees, submitted in response to this solicitation. If an investigator exceeds this limit, proposals received within the limit will be accepted based on earliest date and time of proposal submission. The remainder will be returned without review. This limitation includes proposals submitted by a lead organization and any subaward included as part of a proposal involving multiple organizations.
Estimated Number of Awards: 15 to 20
In FY 2024, depending on the quality of submissions and the availability of funds:
Approximately 20 awards are anticipated, each up to $2,000,000 total and up to 3 years in duration, subject to the availability of funds and quality of proposals received.
The budget should be commensurate with the scope of the proposed research. Estimated program budget, number of awards and average award size/duration are subject to the availability of funds.
Anticipated Funding Amount: $40,000,000
Estimated program budget, number of awards and average award size/duration are subject to the availability of funds.