UTSA to support new DARPA-funded microelectronics manufacturing center

SEPTEMBER 9, 2024 — UTSA will provide advanced technical training and workforce development to complement a new Next-Generation Microelectronics Manufacturing (NGMM) program in Texas. The collaborators on the project, the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA) and the Texas Institute for Electronics (TIE) at the University of Texas at Austin, plan to launch the manufacturing hub by 2029.

The project represents a total investment of $1.4 billion, with an $840 million award from DARPA complemented by a $552 million investment in TIE by the Texas legislature. The center, housed within TIE, will aim to boost national microchip manufacturing capacity for greater economic and national security in the U.S. The program will develop in two phases, each 2.5 years in duration. In the first phase, TIE will establish the center’s infrastructure and basic capabilities. In the second phase, the center will engineer in-demand 3-D Heterogenous Integration (3DHI) hardware prototypes.

UTSA will deliver specialized training to graduate students, who may elect to pursue internships at TIE. The university will receive up to $500,000 per year in external funds over the five-year span of the program: $325,000 from DARPA and $175,000 from the State of Texas.

These funds will enable UTSA to offer one-year scholarships to students in NGMM-related fields, including electrical and computer engineering, mechanical engineering and chemical engineering. Eligible students will develop the skills needed to fill jobs in the U.S. defense electronics sector, including the needs of the NGMM. A select group of roughly 10 students may participate each year.

“We are proud and excited that we have been called upon to deliver this highly specialized, in-demand training.”

A Neuromorphic AI chip designed in the NuAI lab as part of the Genesis project, funded by Airforce Research Laboratory. The AI chip is designed at UTSA by graduate students and fabricated at the SUNY-Poly, Albany. Graduate Students: Vedant Karia, Fatima Tuz Zohora. Postdoctoral research scientist: Abdullah Zyarah. Project PI: Dr. Dhireesha Kudithipudi

The UTSA-based lead on the project is Dhireesha Kudithipudi, the Robert F. McDermott Endowed Chair in Engineering and founding director of MATRIX: The UTSA AI Consortium for Human Well-Being. MATRIX AI is a research consortium engaging 85 faculty in the research and development of AI for applications that support human wellbeing. The center conducts research in four research thrusts, including the design of neuromorphic computing systems for improved functionality and energy efficiency in edge computing. Neuromorphic computing refers to any computing system that is inspired by the brain's structure or function.

Many students in the program will focus on digital AI hardware technologies with mentorship from MATRIX AI affiliated faculty members. Kudithipudi also plans to establish summer internship programs with TIE in Austin and other industry partners.

“MATRIX AI is a leading, sophisticated hub for neuromorphic computing, and this collaboration showcases the expertise we bring in AI hardware,” Kudithipudi said. “We are proud and excited that we have been called upon to deliver this highly specialized, in-demand training. I look forward to supporting the faculty and students who come through this promising new program.”

Students will have the opportunity to learn about next-generation microelectronics and components of 3DHI microsystems. These are systems that integrate a variety of electronics functionalities that were previously mutually exclusive.

Faculty advisors in the program will include Dharanidhar (DD) Dang, MATRIX core member and assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering; Frank Chen, the Lutcher Brown Distinguished Chair in Advanced Manufacturing; and Fidel Santamaria, associate professor of neuroscience, developmental and regenerative biology and MATRIX Thrust Lead.

“In support of the new Next-Generation Microelectronics Manufacturing program in Texas, I am excited to develop and teach short courses for training and workforce development specifically in subjects such as ‘Introduction to Microelectronic Manufacturing: from Wafer to Chip,’ and conduct research in optimization and control of microelectronics manufacturing systems,” said Chen, who will teach in-demand skills including Lean Six Sigma certification, lean product development and sustainable manufacturing. “These are critical skills for any manufacturing company to compete successfully in the global marketplace.”

Meanwhile, Dang is looking forward to advancing 3DHI technology with his students.

“3DHI technology is at the forefront of semiconductor innovation today,” he explained. “This new partnership comprises world experts in the fields of analog circuits, AI accelerators, NVM, neuromorphic computing, device physics and material analytics. Our cyber security experts will also play a guiding role in ensuring our hardware technology is robust and foolproof from a defense perspective. Bringing all this expertise together will make a significant impact in accelerating the 3DHI technological landscape.”

One of the subjects Dang will teach in this program is embedded systems for AI. The course will offer graduate students comprehensive, hands-on training on designing next-generation AI-driven semiconductor systems with a focus on real-world applications of the technology.

While microchips have become increasingly crucial to a wide range of devices, systems and companies such as Nvidia and Apple, the country’s microelectronics manufacturing capacity has been outpaced by Taiwan. The Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), for example, recorded a market share of 61.7% in the global semiconductor market in the first quarter of 2024.

The integral nature of semiconductors was felt most keenly in 2020, when the global chip shortage affected supply chains around the world. Yet the disparity between supply and demand persists; only a small number of countries currently fabricate wafers, the foundational component in semiconductor chips.

The value of the global semiconductor industry reached $530 billion in 2023 and is projected to grow to $996 billion by 2033. Semiconductor sales in April, 2024, were up 15.8% year-over-year.

“The semiconductor industry in Texas will continue to grow and is vital for our national defense and our economy,” said Eric Brey, dean of the UTSA Klesse College of Engineering and Integrated Design. “We are committed to preparing graduates who will be leaders in these crucial areas. Faculty at UTSA and in the Klesse College bring critical expertise in the design and manufacturing of microelectronics.”

The MATRIX AI Consortium for Human Well-Being is a transdisciplinary multi-stakeholder research enterprise that serves as a central hub for basic and applied AI research housed at UTSA. MATRIX’s mission is to conduct transformative research in the design, use, and deployment of AI that enhances human life, and to offer rigorous research training opportunities that transcend disciplinary boundaries.

MATRIX consists of 85 researchers spanning across four collaborating organizations: UTSA, UT Health San Antonio, the Southwest Research Institute, and the Texas Biomedical Research Institute. MATRIX core researchers are recognized thought leaders and have research funding from many prestigious federal and private agencies, including the National Science Foundation, the National Institute of Health, the Air Force Research Laboratory, the U.S. Air Force Office of Scientific Research, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the W.M. Keck Foundation.

— Audrey Gray