[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 191 (Wednesday, October 2, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 80210-80211]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-22664]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Institute for Standards and Technology


Artificial Intelligence-Powered Autonomous Experimentation (AI/
AE) for Sustainable Semiconductor Materials

AGENCY: National Institute of Standards and Technology, Department of 
Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of intent (NOI).

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SUMMARY: The CHIPS Research and Development Office (CHIPS R&D) intends 
to announce an open competition for industry-informed, university-based 
collaborations demonstrating artificial intelligence-powered autonomous 
experimentation (AI/AE) into sustainable materials and processes 
relevant to semiconductor manufacturing. CHIPS R&D expects a total 
Federal commitment of up to approximately $100 million over a period 
not to exceed five years as needed to support at least two large, team-
oriented awards.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions may be submitted via email 
to <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#c9a8baa2aaa1a0b9ba89aaa1a0b9bae7aea6bf"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="69081a020a0100191a290a0100191a470e061f">[email protected]</span></a> with ``2024-NIST-CHIPS-AI/AE-NOI'' in the subject 
line or via phone to Jim Warren at (301) 975-5708. Responses to 
questions received, provided at the sole discretion of CHIPS R&D, will 
be posted on the CHIPS R&D website at https://www.nist.gov/chips/chips-RD-funding-opportunities, with further information provided on this 
site once the open competition has been announced.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Purpose. CHIPS R&D intends to announce, via a Notice of Funding 
Opportunity (NOFO), an open competition for industry-informed, 
university-based AI/AE collaborations relevant to sustainable 
semiconductor manufacturing. The NOFO would seek to support the long-
term viability of domestic semiconductor manufacturing by accelerating 
the discovery, design, synthesis, and deployment of new materials and 
processes and the development of new researchers needed to meet the 
industry's technological, economic, and sustainability goals. These 
goals may include but are not limited to improving leading-edge product 
performance; improving manufacturing yield, energy and water 
efficiency, and supply chain resiliency; and reducing manufacturing 
emissions and waste (including PFAS) through the development of 
materials and process alternatives, for the benefit of human health and 
safety. If successful, the competition should demonstrate that new 
sustainable semiconductor materials and processes, meeting industry 
needs, can be designed and adopted for industry testing within five 
years. The competition should further accelerate a step-change in the 
number of universities, researchers, and graduates participating in the 
U.S. semiconductor R&D ecosystem, including in CHIPS Act funded 
activities at the National Semiconductor Technology Center (NSTC) and 
CHIPS Manufacturing USA Institute.
    For general planning purposes, CHIPS R&D expects a total Federal 
commitment of up to approximately $100 million over a period not to 
exceed five years, as needed to support at least two large, team-
oriented awards. CHIPS R&D expects eligible uses of Federal funds to 
include the procurement, upgrade, or maintenance of necessary research 
equipment at universities; accessing such equipment outside of academia 
or outside of the project team; basic and applied research and 
development (R&D); workforce development; and technology transition. 
CHIPS R&D further envisions that university research teams may leverage 
industry-provided expertise, intellectual property, facility access, or 
other forms of partner co-investment during the award period of 
performance. The anticipated program outcomes, if successful, should 
prove relevant and translatable to the NSTC, CHIPS Manufacturing USA 
Institute, and other CHIPS programs.. The purpose of this NOI is to 
facilitate the development of meaningful collaborations and responsive 
proposals by offering preliminary information to potential applicants. 
Consistent with the direction under Executive Order 14080 
(Implementation of the CHIPS Act of 2022) for agencies to prioritize 
benefitting a broad range of stakeholders and to establish 
collaborative networks, CHIPS R&D expects to encourage proposals that 
significantly expand the capabilities of emerging research institutions 
(ERIs) in partnership with industry, other research universities, and 
national laboratories.
    This NOI is provided to allow potential applicants sufficient time 
to develop meaningful collaborations and responsive proposals. CHIPS 
R&D intends to announce the competition by posting the NOFO on 
Grants.gov (https://www.grants.gov) in the fourth quarter of calendar 
year 2024. CHIPS R&D will refine program structure, cost, and other 
program details in the upcoming NOFO. In the event of inconsistencies 
between the NOI and the NOFO, the NOFO shall govern and control. More 
information about the expected NOFO will be made available on the CHIPS 
for America website at https://www.nist.gov/chips/chips-rd-funding-
opportunities.
    Background. Accelerated discovery, design and validation of new 
materials promises critical benefits to the future of the global 
semiconductor industry.<SUP>1 2</SUP> In its 2023 Microelectronics and 
Advanced Packaging Technologies Roadmap (``Roadmap''), the 
Semiconductor Research Corporation indicated a demand for innovative 
semiconductor materials and chemistries. The Roadmap stated that 
``tools encompassing co-optimization of performance metrics and 
environmental, health, and safety metrics will help accelerate the

[[Page 80211]]

discovery of more sustainable materials and chemicals without 
compromising the performance of the product.'' \3\ Other industry 
reports, including one from the Semiconductor PFAS \4\ Consortium, 
recognize the need to identify and test substitute semiconductor 
manufacturing materials or to develop abatement technologies that 
prevent the release of certain chemicals into the environment.\5\
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    \1\ Semiconductor Research Corporation, ``MAPT Microelectronics 
and Advanced Packaging Technologies Roadmap'', 2023. Available 
online at: https://srcmapt.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/SRC-MAPT-Roadmap-2023-v4.pdf.
    \2\ AI Aspirations: AI for Sustainable Materials, White House 
Office of Science and Technology Policy, 2024. Available online at: 
https://ai.gov/aspirations/.
    \3\ Semiconductor Research Corporation, ``MAPT Microelectronics 
and Advanced Packaging Technologies Roadmap'', 2023. Available 
online at: https://srcmapt.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/SRC-MAPT-Roadmap-2023-v4.pdf.
    \4\ Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances.
    \5\ Semiconductor PFAS Consortium, ``Background on Semiconductor 
Manufacturing and PFAS'', May 17, 2023. Available online at: https://www.semiconductors.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/FINAL-PFAS-Consortium-Background-Paper.pdf.
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    However, the deployment of new materials and processes can require 
years of research, development, testing, and validation.\6\ AI/AE has 
emerged as a potentially game-changing approach to accelerate materials 
R&D. AI/AE combines automated synthesis and characterization tools with 
an AI ``planner'' to determine the next round of an experimental 
campaign, vastly accelerating the design of new materials and the 
acquisition of materials data. The AI planner can have multiple 
objectives, reflecting the materials designer's goals. For materials 
development, AI/AE systems may include, for instance, (1) a combination 
of specialized and generalized automated laboratory devices for 
materials handling, (2) software for data analysis, and (3) machine 
learning tools (which may be informed by physics-based models and 
shared databases) to predict material properties and help plan further 
experiments. Accessing this combination of capabilities will likely 
require multiple organizations, including universities, industry, and 
national laboratories, operating in partnership. If successful, these 
techniques can enable the co-optimization during materials discovery of 
multiple metrics important to next-generation microelectronics 
including microelectronics performance, manufacturing readiness, 
manufacturing economics, human health and safety, and environmental 
impact, including but not limited to PFAS mitigation and elimination, 
waste reduction and manufacturing water/energy efficiency. CHIPS R&D 
intends for the technical focus and R&D goals of the planned NOFO to 
emphasize the sustainability of the U.S. semiconductor industry and the 
demand for improved microelectronics power, performance, area, and cost 
metrics. By leveraging AI/AE and working in close partnerships with 
industry, CHIPS R&D intends to allow for the more rapid and cost-
efficient discovery, design, validation, and deployment of sustainable 
materials and processes compared to traditional R&D approaches.
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    \6\ Id.
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    CHIPS R&D Mission. The CHIPS and Science Act appropriated 
approximately $50 billion to the Department of Commerce, which includes 
$39 billion in incentives to onshore semiconductor manufacturing and 
$11 billion to advance U.S. leadership in semiconductor R&D. Within 
CHIPS for America, the mission of CHIPS R&D is to accelerate the 
development and commercial deployment of foundational semiconductor 
technologies by establishing, connecting, and providing access to 
domestic research efforts, tools, resources, workers, and facilities.
    NOFO Objectives. CHIPS R&D expects that the planned NOFO will 
solicit proposals seeking to achieve the following objectives:
    1. Through the application of AI/AE, accelerate research into and 
delivery of targeted, industry-relevant, sustainable semiconductor 
materials and processes;
    2. Propagate models for incorporating sustainability metrics into 
the semiconductor industry materials discovery, in addition to 
traditional power, performance, area, and cost metrics;
    3. Expand the capabilities of emerging research institutions 
through aggressive, innovative teams of universities, industry, 
government labs, and other stakeholders; and
    4. Build an exceptional workforce of university graduates and 
research faculty with AI/AE R&D expertise.
    Application Process and Award Information. The envisioned 
application process consists of a mandatory concept paper and a 
required full application. CHIPS R&D anticipates a due date for concept 
papers of approximately 60 days after the date of NOFO publication. 
Full applications would only be accepted from applicants that are 
invited to apply after completion of the concept paper stage. 
Submissions received from entities other than those invited to submit a 
full application would not be reviewed or considered in any way. CHIPS 
R&D expects to fund at least two awards, subject to the availability of 
funds and the merit of applications received.
    CHIPS R&D expects to host one or more webinars to provide 
additional opportunities to learn about this NOI. Details regarding the 
time and date of webinar events will be posted on the CHIPS R&D website 
at https://www.nist.gov/chips/chips-RD-funding-opportunities. 
Participation in webinars is not a prerequisite for submitting a 
concept paper or a full application.
    Competition Information. Once the open competition has been 
announced, further information may be found at https://www.nist.gov/chips/chips-RD-funding-opportunities.
    System for Award Management and Grants.gov. In anticipation of the 
NOFO, CHIPS R&D encourages potential applicants to complete the 
following steps, which are required to submit concept papers and full 
applications for Federal assistance:

    <bullet> Register with the System for Award Management (SAM) at 
https://www.sam.gov. CHIPS R&D strongly encourages applicants to 
register for SAM.gov as early as possible. While this process 
ordinarily takes between three days and two weeks to complete, in some 
circumstances it can take six or more weeks to complete due to 
information verification requirements. Recipients will be required to 
maintain an active registration in SAM and re-validate registration 
annually.
    <bullet> Register for a Grants.gov (http://www.grants.gov/) 
account. It is advisable also to go to ``manage subscriptions'' on 
Grants.gov and sign up to receive email notifications and updates on 
specific opportunities, including amendments to published 
opportunities. Information about how to manage subscriptions is 
available at https://grants.gov/connect/manage-subscriptions/.

    Disclaimer. This NOI does not constitute a solicitation. An 
application may not be submitted in response to this NOI. Any 
inconsistency between information in this NOI and the planned NOFO 
announcing a CHIPS R&D award competition shall be resolved in favor of 
the NOFO.
    Authority. CHIPS R&D activities are authorized by Title XCIX--
Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors for America of 
the William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for 
Fiscal Year 2021 (Pub. L. 116-283), often referred to as the CHIPS Act.

Alicia Chambers,
NIST Executive Secretariat.
[FR Doc. 2024-22664 Filed 10-1-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-13-P


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