The CHIPS for America program within the Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology expects to award up to $100 million in funding to advance the use of artificial intelligence in the development of sustainable semiconductor materials and processes that could be adopted within five years.
NIST said Wednesday CHIPS for America announced plans to launch an open competition through a notice of intent and fund industry-informed, university-led collaborations about AI-powered autonomous experimentation—or AI/AE—associated with sustainable semiconductor production.
AI/AE could help expedite the research and development of materials by combining automated synthesis and characterization tools with an AI “planner” to determine the next phase of an experimental campaign.
“President Biden says our nation can be defined in a single word: Possibilities. Using AI to accelerate the extensive, intricate work of developing sustainable materials for this incredibly complicated product is a great example of American ingenuity,” said Arati Prabhakar, assistant to the president for science and technology and director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.
“This is how CHIPS research and development will help manufacturers continue to succeed and thrive here at home,” added Prabhakar, a previous Wash100 awardee.
NIST said it expects the notice of funding opportunity for the competition to be issued later this year.