Notice2024-22664
Artificial Intelligence-Powered Autonomous Experimentation (AI/AE) for Sustainable Semiconductor Materials
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Published
October 2, 2024
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentNational Institute of Standards and Technology
Abstract
The CHIPS Research and Development Office (CHIPS R&D) intends to announce an open competition for industry-informed, university-based collaborations demonstrating artificial intelligence-powered autonomous experimentation (AI/AE) into sustainable materials and processes relevant to semiconductor manufacturing. CHIPS R&D expects a total Federal commitment of up to approximately $100 million over a period not to exceed five years as needed to support at least two large, team- oriented awards.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 191 (Wednesday, October 2, 2024)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 191 (Wednesday, October 2, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 80210-80211]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-22664]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Institute for Standards and Technology
Artificial Intelligence-Powered Autonomous Experimentation (AI/
AE) for Sustainable Semiconductor Materials
AGENCY: National Institute of Standards and Technology, Department of
Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of intent (NOI).
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SUMMARY: The CHIPS Research and Development Office (CHIPS R&D) intends
to announce an open competition for industry-informed, university-based
collaborations demonstrating artificial intelligence-powered autonomous
experimentation (AI/AE) into sustainable materials and processes
relevant to semiconductor manufacturing. CHIPS R&D expects a total
Federal commitment of up to approximately $100 million over a period
not to exceed five years as needed to support at least two large, team-
oriented awards.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions may be submitted via email
to <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#c9a8baa2aaa1a0b9ba89aaa1a0b9bae7aea6bf"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="69081a020a0100191a290a0100191a470e061f">[email protected]</span></a> with ``2024-NIST-CHIPS-AI/AE-NOI'' in the subject
line or via phone to Jim Warren at (301) 975-5708. Responses to
questions received, provided at the sole discretion of CHIPS R&D, will
be posted on the CHIPS R&D website at <a href="https://www.nist.gov/chips/chips-RD-funding-opportunities">https://www.nist.gov/chips/chips-RD-funding-opportunities</a>, with further information provided on this
site once the open competition has been announced.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Purpose. CHIPS R&D intends to announce, via a Notice of Funding
Opportunity (NOFO), an open competition for industry-informed,
university-based AI/AE collaborations relevant to sustainable
semiconductor manufacturing. The NOFO would seek to support the long-
term viability of domestic semiconductor manufacturing by accelerating
the discovery, design, synthesis, and deployment of new materials and
processes and the development of new researchers needed to meet the
industry's technological, economic, and sustainability goals. These
goals may include but are not limited to improving leading-edge product
performance; improving manufacturing yield, energy and water
efficiency, and supply chain resiliency; and reducing manufacturing
emissions and waste (including PFAS) through the development of
materials and process alternatives, for the benefit of human health and
safety. If successful, the competition should demonstrate that new
sustainable semiconductor materials and processes, meeting industry
needs, can be designed and adopted for industry testing within five
years. The competition should further accelerate a step-change in the
number of universities, researchers, and graduates participating in the
U.S. semiconductor R&D ecosystem, including in CHIPS Act funded
activities at the National Semiconductor Technology Center (NSTC) and
CHIPS Manufacturing USA Institute.
For general planning purposes, CHIPS R&D expects a total Federal
commitment of up to approximately $100 million over a period not to
exceed five years, as needed to support at least two large, team-
oriented awards. CHIPS R&D expects eligible uses of Federal funds to
include the procurement, upgrade, or maintenance of necessary research
equipment at universities; accessing such equipment outside of academia
or outside of the project team; basic and applied research and
development (R&D); workforce development; and technology transition.
CHIPS R&D further envisions that university research teams may leverage
industry-provided expertise, intellectual property, facility access, or
other forms of partner co-investment during the award period of
performance. The anticipated program outcomes, if successful, should
prove relevant and translatable to the NSTC, CHIPS Manufacturing USA
Institute, and other CHIPS programs.. The purpose of this NOI is to
facilitate the development of meaningful collaborations and responsive
proposals by offering preliminary information to potential applicants.
Consistent with the direction under Executive Order 14080
(Implementation of the CHIPS Act of 2022) for agencies to prioritize
benefitting a broad range of stakeholders and to establish
collaborative networks, CHIPS R&D expects to encourage proposals that
significantly expand the capabilities of emerging research institutions
(ERIs) in partnership with industry, other research universities, and
national laboratories.
This NOI is provided to allow potential applicants sufficient time
to develop meaningful collaborations and responsive proposals. CHIPS
R&D intends to announce the competition by posting the NOFO on
<a href="http://Grants.gov">Grants.gov</a> (<a href="https://www.grants.gov">https://www.grants.gov</a>) in the fourth quarter of calendar
year 2024. CHIPS R&D will refine program structure, cost, and other
program details in the upcoming NOFO. In the event of inconsistencies
between the NOI and the NOFO, the NOFO shall govern and control. More
information about the expected NOFO will be made available on the CHIPS
for America website at https://www.nist.gov/chips/chips-rd-funding-
opportunities.
Background. Accelerated discovery, design and validation of new
materials promises critical benefits to the future of the global
semiconductor industry.<SUP>1 2</SUP> In its 2023 Microelectronics and
Advanced Packaging Technologies Roadmap (``Roadmap''), the
Semiconductor Research Corporation indicated a demand for innovative
semiconductor materials and chemistries. The Roadmap stated that
``tools encompassing co-optimization of performance metrics and
environmental, health, and safety metrics will help accelerate the
[[Page 80211]]
discovery of more sustainable materials and chemicals without
compromising the performance of the product.'' \3\ Other industry
reports, including one from the Semiconductor PFAS \4\ Consortium,
recognize the need to identify and test substitute semiconductor
manufacturing materials or to develop abatement technologies that
prevent the release of certain chemicals into the environment.\5\
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\1\ Semiconductor Research Corporation, ``MAPT Microelectronics
and Advanced Packaging Technologies Roadmap'', 2023. Available
online at: <a href="https://srcmapt.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/SRC-MAPT-Roadmap-2023-v4.pdf">https://srcmapt.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/SRC-MAPT-Roadmap-2023-v4.pdf</a>.
\2\ AI Aspirations: AI for Sustainable Materials, White House
Office of Science and Technology Policy, 2024. Available online at:
<a href="https://ai.gov/aspirations/">https://ai.gov/aspirations/</a>.
\3\ Semiconductor Research Corporation, ``MAPT Microelectronics
and Advanced Packaging Technologies Roadmap'', 2023. Available
online at: <a href="https://srcmapt.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/SRC-MAPT-Roadmap-2023-v4.pdf">https://srcmapt.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/SRC-MAPT-Roadmap-2023-v4.pdf</a>.
\4\ Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances.
\5\ Semiconductor PFAS Consortium, ``Background on Semiconductor
Manufacturing and PFAS'', May 17, 2023. Available online at: <a href="https://www.semiconductors.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/FINAL-PFAS-Consortium-Background-Paper.pdf">https://www.semiconductors.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/FINAL-PFAS-Consortium-Background-Paper.pdf</a>.
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However, the deployment of new materials and processes can require
years of research, development, testing, and validation.\6\ AI/AE has
emerged as a potentially game-changing approach to accelerate materials
R&D. AI/AE combines automated synthesis and characterization tools with
an AI ``planner'' to determine the next round of an experimental
campaign, vastly accelerating the design of new materials and the
acquisition of materials data. The AI planner can have multiple
objectives, reflecting the materials designer's goals. For materials
development, AI/AE systems may include, for instance, (1) a combination
of specialized and generalized automated laboratory devices for
materials handling, (2) software for data analysis, and (3) machine
learning tools (which may be informed by physics-based models and
shared databases) to predict material properties and help plan further
experiments. Accessing this combination of capabilities will likely
require multiple organizations, including universities, industry, and
national laboratories, operating in partnership. If successful, these
techniques can enable the co-optimization during materials discovery of
multiple metrics important to next-generation microelectronics
including microelectronics performance, manufacturing readiness,
manufacturing economics, human health and safety, and environmental
impact, including but not limited to PFAS mitigation and elimination,
waste reduction and manufacturing water/energy efficiency. CHIPS R&D
intends for the technical focus and R&D goals of the planned NOFO to
emphasize the sustainability of the U.S. semiconductor industry and the
demand for improved microelectronics power, performance, area, and cost
metrics. By leveraging AI/AE and working in close partnerships with
industry, CHIPS R&D intends to allow for the more rapid and cost-
efficient discovery, design, validation, and deployment of sustainable
materials and processes compared to traditional R&D approaches.
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\6\ Id.
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CHIPS R&D Mission. The CHIPS and Science Act appropriated
approximately $50 billion to the Department of Commerce, which includes
$39 billion in incentives to onshore semiconductor manufacturing and
$11 billion to advance U.S. leadership in semiconductor R&D. Within
CHIPS for America, the mission of CHIPS R&D is to accelerate the
development and commercial deployment of foundational semiconductor
technologies by establishing, connecting, and providing access to
domestic research efforts, tools, resources, workers, and facilities.
NOFO Objectives. CHIPS R&D expects that the planned NOFO will
solicit proposals seeking to achieve the following objectives:
1. Through the application of AI/AE, accelerate research into and
delivery of targeted, industry-relevant, sustainable semiconductor
materials and processes;
2. Propagate models for incorporating sustainability metrics into
the semiconductor industry materials discovery, in addition to
traditional power, performance, area, and cost metrics;
3. Expand the capabilities of emerging research institutions
through aggressive, innovative teams of universities, industry,
government labs, and other stakeholders; and
4. Build an exceptional workforce of university graduates and
research faculty with AI/AE R&D expertise.
Application Process and Award Information. The envisioned
application process consists of a mandatory concept paper and a
required full application. CHIPS R&D anticipates a due date for concept
papers of approximately 60 days after the date of NOFO publication.
Full applications would only be accepted from applicants that are
invited to apply after completion of the concept paper stage.
Submissions received from entities other than those invited to submit a
full application would not be reviewed or considered in any way. CHIPS
R&D expects to fund at least two awards, subject to the availability of
funds and the merit of applications received.
CHIPS R&D expects to host one or more webinars to provide
additional opportunities to learn about this NOI. Details regarding the
time and date of webinar events will be posted on the CHIPS R&D website
at <a href="https://www.nist.gov/chips/chips-RD-funding-opportunities">https://www.nist.gov/chips/chips-RD-funding-opportunities</a>.
Participation in webinars is not a prerequisite for submitting a
concept paper or a full application.
Competition Information. Once the open competition has been
announced, further information may be found at <a href="https://www.nist.gov/chips/chips-RD-funding-opportunities">https://www.nist.gov/chips/chips-RD-funding-opportunities</a>.
System for Award Management and <a href="http://Grants.gov">Grants.gov</a>. In anticipation of the
NOFO, CHIPS R&D encourages potential applicants to complete the
following steps, which are required to submit concept papers and full
applications for Federal assistance:
<bullet> Register with the System for Award Management (SAM) at
<a href="https://www.sam.gov">https://www.sam.gov</a>. CHIPS R&D strongly encourages applicants to
register for <a href="http://SAM.gov">SAM.gov</a> as early as possible. While this process
ordinarily takes between three days and two weeks to complete, in some
circumstances it can take six or more weeks to complete due to
information verification requirements. Recipients will be required to
maintain an active registration in SAM and re-validate registration
annually.
<bullet> Register for a <a href="http://Grants.gov">Grants.gov</a> (<a href="http://www.grants.gov/">http://www.grants.gov/</a>)
account. It is advisable also to go to ``manage subscriptions'' on
<a href="http://Grants.gov">Grants.gov</a> and sign up to receive email notifications and updates on
specific opportunities, including amendments to published
opportunities. Information about how to manage subscriptions is
available at <a href="https://grants.gov/connect/manage-subscriptions/">https://grants.gov/connect/manage-subscriptions/</a>.
Disclaimer. This NOI does not constitute a solicitation. An
application may not be submitted in response to this NOI. Any
inconsistency between information in this NOI and the planned NOFO
announcing a CHIPS R&D award competition shall be resolved in favor of
the NOFO.
Authority. CHIPS R&D activities are authorized by Title XCIX--
Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors for America of
the William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for
Fiscal Year 2021 (Pub. L. 116-283), often referred to as the CHIPS Act.
Alicia Chambers,
NIST Executive Secretariat.
[FR Doc. 2024-22664 Filed 10-1-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-13-P
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