CHIPS for America Awards

The CHIPS for America award will provide Rocket Lab up to $23.9 million in total direct funding under the CHIPS and Science Act to support the creation of a more robust and resilient supply of space-grade solar cells that power spacecrafts and satellites. The modernization and expansion project would increase Rocket Lab’s compound semiconductor production by 50% within the next three years – helping to meet the growing national security and commercial demand for these solar cells in the United States.

The CHIPS for America award will provide the company with up to $6.6 billion in total direct funding under the CHIPS and Science Act to support the company’s planned investment of more than $65 billion in three greenfield leading-edge fabs in Phoenix, Arizona.

The CHIPS for America award will provide the company with up to $123 million in total direct funding under the CHIPS and Science Act to expand and modernize the company’s manufacturing facility in Bloomington, Minnesota, doubling its U.S. production capacity of sensor and power chips within two years.

The purpose of this grant is to establish an Entrepreneurial Fellowship Pilot program that will fund up to 10 early-stage companies ("Fellows") focused on innovations in semiconductor manufacturing technologies. The Pilot will establish a framework for other CHIPS-funded businesses to integrate innovative semiconductor ideas and technology into the semiconductor R&D ecosystem.

Develop a simulation tool for photonic integrated circuits that accounts for manufacturing variations and imperfections. This project will benefit the designers of photonic integrated circuits, who will have faster development times as well as U.S. semiconductor manufacturers and fabrication facilities.

Develop a Radio Frequency (RF) channel sounder system to accurately characterize the effects of the wireless environment. This project will benefit microelectronics companies and research institutions focused on communication technologies.

Develop AI-powered software to automate chip design optimization for manufacturability through accelerated lithography simulation. This project will benefit U.S. researchers and industry involve in semiconductor design and manufacturing.

Develop advanced dimensional metrology tools for semiconductor fabrication equipment to minimize the gap in the physical-digital divide and amplifying the accuracy of digital twins. This project will benefit the U.S. microelectronics supply chain.

Develop a novel high-speed camera for high-resolution electron backscatter diffraction and transmission Kikuchi diffraction which will significantly expand the materials properties that can be probed with this technique. This project will benefit U.S. industry using materials characterization for current and next-generation microelectronics devices.

Develop a rapid and accurate high-resolution ion microscopy technology for materials characterization particularly focused on challenges for the semiconductor industry. This project will benefit the U.S. semiconductor industry and researchers.

Develop a reference implementation of the Commercial Trust™ Protocol (CTP) to manage verifiable credentials (VCs), metrology, and intellectual property, enhancing hardware security, and provenance tracking of microelectronic components across supply chains. This project will benefit the U.S. microelectronics supply chain industry.

Develop cutting-edge technology for calibration of the instrument transfer function of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithographic tools. This project will advance EUV lithography technology for the U.S. semiconductor industry.

Develop a measurement technology for in-line metrology, which has applications in materials purity, electrical properties, three-dimensional devices, and next generation manufacturing. This project will benefit the U.S. metrology and advanced packaging industries.

Develop new high-speed nanoprobes to enhance the ability for semiconductor failure analysis to locate and analyze to detect "soft" electrical faults that occur on the most advanced semiconductors and are otherwise difficult to detect. This project will benefit researchers and semiconductor failure analysis engineers in the U.S. semiconductor industry.

Develop a new measurement tool to analyze airborne contaminants and toxic gases inside and outside the fab that lead to semiconductor processing defects and safety infringements. This project will benefits U.S semiconductor fabrication facilities.