The designation of new technology hubs is a major implementation milestone of the new Microelectronics Commons program, created by the CHIPS Act.

TAKEAWAYS

• The Department of Defense (DoD) Microelectronics Commons program, created under the CHIPS and Science Act, supports a “lab-to-fab” pathway that enables microelectronic projects to cross the “valley of death” and reach commercialization.
• On September 20, the DoD announced eight hubs that are awarded nearly $240 million dollars to support projects across six core technical areas: electromagnetic warfare, secure-edge computing, artificial intelligence hardware, quantum technology, 5G/6G technology and commercial leap-ahead technologies.
• Companies in the R&D space, startups, incubators, government contractors and more can become hub members to support project objectives.

On September 20, the Department of Defense (DoD) announced nearly $240 million dollars to eight regional innovation hubs that will accelerate U.S. microelectronics manufacturing industry through the Microelectronics Commons, the Department’s newest program to accelerate product deployment from research to end commercialization. Companies working in the semiconductor industry should consider opportunities to partner and team with the established hubs that will be funding prototype projects key to the U.S. defense.

The Commons
The Microelectronic Commons will create a network of local facilities to accelerate the deployment of microelectronic technologies by focusing on prototype development. The facilities will support small and midsize companies, as well as universities, in moving their designs from research and development stages to commercialization, in what the Department is calling the “lab to fab” pathway. To carry out this mission, the Commons is designed around the following four key goals:

• Enable the laboratory-to-fabrication transition of microelectronics innovations in the United States;
• Enable cost-effective exploration of new materials, devices, architectures and prototyping in domestic facilities to safeguard domestic intellectual property;
• Accelerate the transition of new technologies to domestic microelectronics manufacturers; and
• Expand the global leadership in microelectronics of the United States.

The Microelectronic Commons will help alleviate the costs of bringing products to scale and help companies overcome the “valley of death.” The CHIPS & Science Act, enacted on August 9, 2022, allocated $2 billion to the CHIPS for America Defense Fund, which is used to carry out FY 2023 – FY 2027 Microelectronics Commons activities.

Microelectronic Commons Project Structure
Supporting the Commons, and comprising the hubs, are three types of entities: the Hub Leader, the Hub Members and the Cores. The hub leaders, who have been identified in the recent selection of the eight hubs, will direct the member activities. Hub members carry out activities to develop critical defense technologies and can include universities, startups, incubators, federally funded R&D centers, defense industrial base companies, semiconductor companies and any “entity that adds value to the network.” Finally, Cores are fabs or foundries that demonstrate prototypes and help companies achieve the necessary steps to get to scale. Core facilities must prove that they have the technical ability to support the prototype development, and so the Department has advised that Cores will provide access to ≥200-mm tooling for prototyping silicon compatible technologies and/or ≥100-mm tooling for compound semiconductor technologies.

The hubs will support at least one of six core technical areas:

• Electromagnetic warfare,
• Secure-edge computing,
• Artificial intelligence (AI) hardware,
• Quantum technology,
• 5G/6G technology and
• Commercial leap-ahead technologies.

The Eight Regional Innovation Hubs
The Department received over 80 applications, inclusive of over 600 unique organizations, to serve as potential hub members. In addition to the RFS application process, the Department hosted Core Pitch Days, for Cores to showcase their abilities to hubs, and Industry Days, to provide networking opportunities to encourage broader hub membership. On September 20, 2023, the DoD announced the eight hubs who would participate in the program. The hubs and their funding are listed below.

• The Northeast Microelectronics Coalition Hub
• The Silicon Crossroads Microelectronics Commons Hub
• The California Defense Ready Electronics and Microdevices Superhub Hub
• The Commercial Leap Ahead for Wide Bandgap Semiconductors Hub
• The Southwest Advanced Prototyping Hub
• The Midwest Microelectronics Consortium Hub in Ohio
• The Northeast Regional Defense Technology Hub
• The California-Pacific-Northwest AI Hardware Hub

The selected hubs will submit project proposals and compete for available funding. Future technical guidance will be issued with the project opportunities. The future projects will: 1) support operational expenditures, such as tooling maintenance and staff, 2) support additional infrastructure needed for successful prototyping as the hubs mature, 3) facilitate capacity increase of existing infrastructure through, for example, support for required staffing, 4) develop talent and technologies in parallel, and 5) provide challenges for hubs and Cores to collaboratively solve incentivizing the collaboration required for Cores to better align hubs with commercial processes to facilitate transition of technologies. Ultimately, the hubs should become self-sustaining and continue accelerating technological innovations even after the 60-month execution period has passed.

Opportunities for Engagement
Hubs must remain flexible in their membership, allowing for interested organizations to become hub members in advance of project proposals. In fact, hubs are encouraged to grow their membership so that they can continue to compete against one another for projects under all six DoD technology areas. The Department also encourages companies and organizations that can contribute to the buildout of the network to connect with hubs—currently using this contact form. Companies can participate in multiple hubs and are not limited to working only with those hubs in their geographic areas.

The Department has also advised fabs and foundries that did not join as a Core during the hub proposal process can benefit from the program through fee or service agreements with the hubs. Finally, if companies would like to be involved in the program but do not wish to join a hub, they can participate in organized teaming opportunities.

The Microelectronic Commons will hold the first annual meeting in Washington, DC, on October 17 – 18. The event will include remarks from DoD officials and keynote speakers and will also provide technical updates and more information on the teaming programs. Interested parties can register now.

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