Semiconductor Research Corporation and National Science Foundation Fund Search for New TransistorsNew Grants Seek to Power the Future of Global Electronics with Nanoelectronics SEMICON WEST 2009, SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., July 15, 2009 - Semiconductor Research Corporation (SRC), the world's leading university-research consortium for semiconductors and related technologies, today teamed with the National Science Foundation (NSF) to announce funding of $2 million in new supplemental grants for nanoelectronics research. Researchers at six major NSF centers inside leading U.S. universities will contribute to the goal of finding a replacement for the transistor - the foundational building block of computing technology for decades - and discovering a new digital switching mechanism using nanoelectronics innovation. During his presentation at Semicon West later today, Dr. Jeff Welser, director of the Nanoelectronics Research Initiative (NRI) for SRC, will express the importance of this research to the semiconductor industry, national competitiveness and the world. "There is no question semiconductor technology has played a critical role in driving the global economy for the past half century," said Welser. "But the current transistor technology is rapidly reaching its limits, and long-term fundamental research is needed now to be ready for 2020 and beyond. The joint NSF-NRI projects put the country's best minds together for a common goal - finding a new device that will continue our leadership in the nanoelectronics era." Until recently, manufacturers were able to double the number of transistors on a chip at half the power for each transistor by shrinking them smaller and smaller in each new generation of semiconductor technology. However, it is becoming increasingly difficult to continue decreasing the power needed to turn the device off and on, making it difficult to continue the pace of product innovation from scaling alone. These investments in nanoelectronics align closely with NSF's support for engineering and scientific research that furthers discovery," said Dr. Lawrence Goldberg, senior engineering advisor at NSF. "We believe these grants, which support graduate students and postdoctoral associates, will create innovative technologies and help find a solution to this significant issue facing the semiconductor industry today." The joint NSF-NRI supplemental grants were awarded to teams at six NSF centers in nanoelectronics research:
The NSF-NRI grants are for three years and are, in addition to the 18 grants made to NSF centers over the last three years, expanding and strengthening the commitment to the program. Companies participating in NRI are GLOBALFOUNDRIES, IBM, Intel Corporation, Micron Technology and Texas Instruments. These companies will assign researchers to collaborate with the university teams. Strong interactions with the NSF-supported centers will be instrumental in NRI reaching its goal of demonstrating the feasibility of novel computing devices in simple computer circuits during the next five to 10 years. About SRC-NRI
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