National Semiconductor Technology Center

Establishing U.S. Leadership in Future Semiconductor Technologies

The National Semiconductor Technology Center (NSTC), will be a public-private consortium dedicated to semiconductor research and development in the United States. The NSTC will convene the U.S. government and organizations across the semiconductor ecosystem to address the most challenging barriers to continued technological progress in the domestic semiconductor industry.

Why Do We Need the NSTC?

Semiconductors power everything, including computers, smartphones, appliances, automobiles, gaming hardware, medical equipment, and other critical devices. Since Jack Kilby demonstrated the first integrated circuit in 1958, the rate of advancement has been astonishing. Despite many predictions of fundamental barriers along the way, semiconductors have arguably become the most sophisticated systems known to mankind, and progress continues today. Society will rely on yet more progress as semiconductors continue to be the building blocks of the technologies that will shape our future, including artificial intelligence (AI), biotechnology, and quantum. Because semiconductors are a critical technology that underpins society, we must ensure that the U.S. leads the world in both innovation and manufacturing.

As semiconductor technology becomes more sophisticated, this progress comes at an increasing cost. New innovations require a greater investment to make it to market. Making an impact with a new invention can require more capital than most start-ups can afford. In some cases, even the largest companies cannot take on the risk required to bring new technologies into production.

The CHIPS Research & Development Office (CRDO) is establishing the NSTC through the NSTC Charter. The NSTC will:

• Conduct advanced semiconductor manufacturing, design and packaging research, and prototyping that strengthens the entire domestic ecosystem.
• Establish and capitalize an investment fund with the goal of commercializing innovations that contribute to the domestic semiconductor ecosystem.
• Support American semiconductor workers.
• Facilitate collaboration among NSTC members to advance critical semiconductor research and development objectives that will strengthen the domestic supply chain.

The Broad Agency Announcement is one mechanism by which CRDO will achieve these goals. CRDO anticipates releasing additional guidance on the activities of the NSTC.