The Defense Advanced Research Project Agency has awarded $840 million to the Texas Institute for Electronics at the University of Texas at Austin to build a national open-access center to support 3D heterogeneous integration microsystems research, development and low-volume production.
The award was made under the Next-Generation Microelectronics Manufacturing—or NGGM—program, which aims to provide an accessible chip prototyping capability to advance microelectronics innovation, DARPA said Thursday.
As part of the partnership, the Texas Institute for Electronics will establish a consortium to encourage collaboration among the defense industrial base organizations, domestic foundries, vendors and startups, chip designers and manufacturers, and other stakeholders.
According to Whitney Mason, director of DARPA’s Microsystems Technology Office, having an accessible R&D facility “will break down silos and foster an ecosystem that enhances the U.S. competitive advantage.”
The NGMM program is funded by the Department of Defense and is separate from the semiconductor initiative under the CHIPS and Science Act.