Arizona State University and Deca Technologies have been selected to receive a $100 million award from the National Institute of Standards and Technology for the SHIELD USA initiative. This project aims to drive innovation in the microchip packaging ecosystem, increase domestic advanced packaging capacity, and help the U.S. regain leadership in microelectronics while enhancing national security.
Led by ASU’s Jason Conrad and Deca Technologies’ Craig Bishop, the SHIELD USA team will work on developing molded core substrates that will enable enhanced performance in organic substrate-based microelectronics packages. The focus will be on accelerating research and commercial deployment, strengthening domestic supply chains, expanding workforce and research capacity, and supporting U.S. leadership in semiconductor packaging.
This initiative is part of the CHIPS National Advanced Packaging Manufacturing Program and is seen as a critical step towards achieving semiconductor independence in the U.S. By bringing substrate manufacturing back to the country, the initiative aims to make 10X breakthroughs and reestablish technology leadership in the industry.
Deca Technologies’ M-Series fan-out wafer-level packaging and Adaptive Patterning technologies will be leveraged for scaling down feature sizes and enabling heterogeneous integration of chiplets. The collaboration between ASU and industry partners is expected to drive innovation and boost domestic production in the microelectronics sector.
The SHIELD USA team includes major semiconductor companies such as AMD, IBM, NXP, and Synopsys, as well as key domestic packaging manufacturers like IBM and SkyWater Technology. U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo has highlighted the importance of these investments in advanced packaging to ensure the long-term competitiveness of the U.S. in the semiconductor industry.
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Photo credit news.asu.edu
