J. Nelson
Sandia National Laboratories,
United States
Keywords: DOE, Nanoscale Science Research Centers, nanofab, CHIPS
Summary:
Because of their cutting-edge instrumentation infrastructure, technical expertise of their staff, track record of research innovation, and culture of coordinated, cooperative research- including numerous partnerships with industry, the Department of Energy/Office of Science (DOE/SC) Nanoscale Science Research Centers (NSRCs) are well-positioned to support the goals of the Chips and Science Act, and play an important role in this effort to strengthen and advanced US semiconductor manufacturing. The NSRCs are national scientific user facilities, with a fifteen-year track record of advancing the frontiers of nanoscale science by being a nexus for researchers from industry, academia, government agencies, and other science/technology organizations. The NSRC mission is amplifying and accelerating national and global research; together the NSRCs have cumulatively supported more than 40,000 users from 35 countries and all 50 states through access to world-class instrumentation and interactions with expert NSRC staff members. Many of these users come from industry – both small businesses and Fortune 500 companies – who seek to inform their product development and business decisions through fundamental science. These industrial users, who make up as much as 13% of the user community at some NSRCs, inform the research directions and priorities of the NSRCs. Still, there is much more that can be done with these national resources to help accelerate the transition of future US semiconductor innovations from lab-to-fab. This presentation will describe how the NSRCs can support this goal, by making maximize use of their R&D activities, unique capabilities, intellectual property, and scientific expertise.