II 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3740 

To provide for a comprehensive and integrative program to accelerate microelectronics research and development at the Department of Energy, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 2, 2022 

Mr. KELLY (for himself and Mrs. BLACKBURN) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To provide for a comprehensive and integrative program 

to accelerate microelectronics research and development 

at the Department of Energy, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Microelectronics Re5 search for Energy Innovation Act of 2022’’ or the ‘‘Micro 

6 Act of 2022’’. 

7 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

8 In this Act: 


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1 (1) CENTER.—The term ‘‘Center’’ means a 

2 Microelectronics Science Research Center established 

3 pursuant to section 5. 

4 (2) DEPARTMENT.—The term ‘‘Department’’ 

5 means the Department of Energy. 

6 (3) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means 

7 the Director of the Office of Science. 

8 (4) HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGE OR UNI9 VERSITY.—The term ‘‘historically Black college or 

10 university’’ has the meaning given the term ‘‘part B 

11 institution’’ in section 322 of the Higher Education 

12 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1061). 

13 (5) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 

14 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 

15 meaning given the term in section 101(a) of the 

16 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)). 

17 (6) MINORITY-SERVING INSTITUTION.—The 

18 term ‘‘minority-serving institution’’ means an insti19 tution described in any of paragraphs (1) through 

20 (7) of section 371(a) of the Higher Education Act 

21 of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1067q(a)). 

22 (7) NATIONAL LABORATORY.—The term ‘‘Na23 tional Laboratory’’ has the meaning given the term 

24 in section 2 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 

25 U.S.C. 15801). 


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1 (8) PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘program’’ means 

2 the program established under section 4(a). 

3 (9) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

4 the Secretary of Energy. 

5 (10) SKILLED TECHNICAL WORKFORCE.—The 

6 term ‘‘skilled technical workforce’’ has the meaning 

7 given the term in section 4(b)(3) of the Innovations 

8 in Mentoring, Training, and Apprenticeships Act (42 

9 U.S.C. 1862p note; Public Law 115–402). 

10 (11) TRIBAL COLLEGE OR UNIVERSITY.—The 

11 term ‘‘Tribal College or University’’ has the meaning 

12 given the term in section 316 of the Higher Edu13 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1059c). 

14 SEC. 3. FINDINGS. 

15 Congress finds that— 

16 (1) the coming end of Moore’s Law presents 

17 major technological challenges and opportunities for 

18 the United States and has important implications 

19 for national security, economic competitiveness, and 

20 scientific discovery; 

21 (2) future progress and innovation in microelec22 tronics, and the maintenance of a robust domestic 

23 microelectronics supply chain, will require an ap24 proach that advances relevant materials science, 

25 electronic and photonic device technologies, procVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:34 Mar 05, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3740.IS S3740

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1 essing and packaging technologies, manufacturing 

2 technologies, circuit, chip, and system architecture, 

3 and software system and algorithm development in 

4 a codesign fashion; 

5 (3) the National Laboratories possess unique 

6 technical expertise and user facilities that are essen7 tial to— 

8 (A) overcoming foundational research chal9 lenges relevant to the topics described in para10 graph (2); and 

11 (B) translating and transferring research 

12 outcomes to industry; and 

13 (4) the expertise and user facilities of the Na14 tional Laboratories described in paragraph (3) will 

15 enable the Department to drive advances in micro16 electronics that are essential to meeting future needs 

17 in areas critical to the missions of the Department 

18 and the future competitiveness of the domestic 

19 microelectronics industry, including high-perform20 ance computing, emerging data-centric computing 

21 approaches and energy-efficient computing, optical 

22 sensors, sources, and wireless networks, and power 

23 electronics and electricity delivery systems. 


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1 SEC. 4. MICROELECTRONICS RESEARCH PROGRAM. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall carry out a 

3 crosscutting program of research, development, and dem4 onstration of microelectronics relevant to the missions of 

5 the Department to enable advances and breakthroughs in 

6 measurement science, standards, material characteriza7 tion, instrumentation, testing, and manufacturing capa8 bilities that will— 

9 (1) accelerate underlying research and develop10 ment for design, development, and manufacturability 

11 of next-generation microelectronics; and 

12 (2) ensure the global competitiveness of the 

13 United States in the field of microelectronics. 

14 (b) RESEARCH PROJECTS.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out the program, 

16 the Secretary shall provide financial assistance to el17 igible entities described in paragraph (2) to carry 

18 out research projects in— 

19 (A) foundational science areas, including— 

20 (i) materials sciences, chemical 

21 sciences, and plasma science synthesis and 

22 fabrication; 

23 (ii) novel microelectronics devices, in24 cluding emerging memory and storage 

25 technologies; 


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1 (iii) diverse computing architectures 

2 and paradigms, including analog com3 puting and edge computing; 

4 (iv) data-driven modeling and simula5 tion; 

6 (v) integrated sensing, power har7 vesting, and communications; 

8 (vi) component integration and sub9 systems; 

10 (vii) photonic integration and pack11 aging; and 

12 (viii) development of codesign frame13 works for all stages of microelectronics de14 sign, development, fabrication, and applica15 tion; 

16 (B) cybersecurity by design to result in 

17 trusted and resilient microelectronics; 

18 (C) methods for leveraging advanced sim19 ulation and artificial intelligence to enhance co20 design and discovery in microelectronics; 

21 (D) in consultation with the National In22 stitute of Standards and Technology, fabrica23 tion and processing science and metrology asso24 ciated with microelectronics manufacturing, inVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:34 Mar 05, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3740.IS S3740

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1 cluding lithography, patterning, surface deposi2 tion, etching, and cleaning; 

3 (E) approaches for optimizing system-level 

4 energy efficiency of advanced computing sys5 tems, the electrical grid, power electronics, and 

6 other energy infrastructure; 

7 (F) approaches for enhancing the dura8 bility and lifetime of radiation-hardened elec9 tronics; 

10 (G) enhancement of microelectronics secu11 rity, including the development of integrated de12 vices, packages, and thermal management for 

13 severe environments and national security; and 

14 (H) in coordination with other relevant ini15 tiatives of the Department, methods to improve 

16 the lifetime, maintenance, recycling, reuse, and 

17 sustainability of microelectronics components 

18 and systems, including technologies and strate19 gies that reduce the use of energy, water, crit20 ical materials, and other commodities that the 

21 Secretary determines are vulnerable to disrup22 tion. 

23 (2) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—An eligible entity re24 ferred to in paragraph (1) is— 


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1 (A) an institution of higher education, in2 cluding a historically Black college or univer3 sity, a Tribal College or University, and a mi4 nority-serving institution; 

5 (B) a nonprofit research organization; 

6 (C) a State research agency; 

7 (D) a National Laboratory; 

8 (E) a private commercial entity; 

9 (F) a partnership or consortium of 2 or 

10 more entities described in subparagraphs (A) 

11 through (E); and 

12 (G) any other entity that the Secretary de13 termines appropriate. 

14 (3) NOTIFICATION.—Not later than 30 days 

15 after the Secretary provides financial assistance to 

16 an eligible entity under paragraph (1), the Secretary 

17 shall submit to the Committee on Energy and Nat18 ural Resources of the Senate and the Committee on 

19 Science, Space, and Technology of the House of 

20 Representatives a notification of the financial assist21 ance provided, including— 

22 (A) the criteria used by the Secretary to 

23 select the eligible entity receiving the financial 

24 assistance; 


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1 (B) the manner in which the criteria de2 scribed in subparagraph (A) comport with the 

3 purposes of the program described in subsection 

4 (a); and 

5 (C) a description of the research project 

6 that the eligible entity will carry out using the 

7 financial assistance. 

8 (c) TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER.—In carrying out the 

9 program, the Secretary, in coordination with the Director 

10 of the Office of Technology Transitions and in consulta11 tion with the private sector, shall— 

12 (1) support translational research and transfer 

13 of microelectronics technologies; and 

14 (2) identify emerging research and development 

15 needs of industry and government for the benefit of 

16 United States economic competitiveness. 

17 (d) WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT.—In carrying out 

18 the program, the Secretary shall support— 

19 (1) workforce development through existing au20 thorities and mechanisms available to the Depart21 ment, including internships, fellowships, individual 

22 investigator grants, and other activities the Sec23 retary determines appropriate; and 

24 (2) education and outreach activities— 


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1 (A) to disseminate information and pro2 mote understanding of microelectronics and re3 lated fields among students at elementary 

4 school, secondary school, high school, under5 graduate, and graduate levels; and 

6 (B) that may include educational program7 ming with an emphasis on experiential and 

8 project-based learning. 

9 (e) OUTREACH.—The Secretary shall conduct out10 reach to recruit applicants to the program and engage par11 ticipants from all regions of the United States, especially 

12 individuals from underserved communities and groups his13 torically underrepresented in science, technology, engi14 neering, and mathematics. 

15 (f) COORDINATION.—In carrying out the program, 

16 the Secretary shall— 

17 (1) coordinate across all relevant programs and 

18 offices of the Department; and 

19 (2) coordinate the research carried out under 

20 the program relating to microelectronics with activi21 ties carried out by other Federal agencies and pro22 grams relating to microelectronics research, develop23 ment, manufacturing, and supply chain security, in24 cluding the programs authorized under subsections 

25 (c) through (f) of section 9906 of the William M. 


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1 (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization 

2 Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (15 U.S.C. 4656). 

3 (g) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the date 

4 of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to 

5 the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the 

6 Senate and the Committee on Science, Space, and Tech7 nology of the House of Representatives a report describing 

8 the goals, priorities, and anticipated outcomes of the pro9 gram. 

10 (h) FUNDING.—There are authorized to be appro11 priated to the Secretary to carry out this section— 

12 (1) $75,000,000 for fiscal year 2022; 

13 (2) $100,000,000 for fiscal year 2023; 

14 (3) $100,000,000 for fiscal year 2024; 

15 (4) $100,000,000 for fiscal year 2025; and 

16 (5) $100,000,000 for fiscal year 2026. 

17 SEC. 5. MICROELECTRONICS SCIENCE RESEARCH CEN18 TERS. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out the program, sub20 ject to the availability of appropriations, the Director shall 

21 designate not more than 4 eligible entities as Microelec22 tronics Science Research Centers— 

23 (1) to conduct mission-driven research to ad24 dress foundational challenges in the design, developVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:34 Mar 05, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3740.IS S3740

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1 ment, characterization, prototyping, demonstration, 

2 and fabrication of microelectronics; and 

3 (2) to facilitate the translation of research re4 sults to industry. 

5 (b) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—An eligible entity referred 

6 to in subsection (a) is— 

7 (1) a National Laboratory; 

8 (2) an institution of higher education, including 

9 a historically Black college or university, a Tribal 

10 College or University, and a minority-serving institu11 tion; 

12 (3) a private commercial entity; 

13 (4) a research center; 

14 (5) a partnership or consortium of 2 or more 

15 entities described in paragraphs (1) through (4); and 

16 (6) any other entity that the Secretary deter17 mines appropriate. 

18 (c) ACTIVITIES.—The activities of a Center shall in19 clude research, development, and demonstration activities 

20 for— 

21 (1) accelerating the development of new micro22 electronics science and technology, including mate23 rials, devices, circuits, systems, architectures, fab24 rication tools, processes, diagnostics, modeling, synVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:34 Mar 05, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3740.IS S3740

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1 thesis, and, in consultation with the National Insti2 tute of Standards and Technology, metrology; 

3 (2) advancing the sustainability and energy effi4 ciency of new microelectronics devices, packages, and 

5 systems; 

6 (3) application-driven codesign and prototyping 

7 of novel devices to facilitate laboratory-to-fabrication 

8 transition; 

9 (4) advancing knowledge and experimental ca10 pabilities in surface and materials science, plasma 

11 science, and computational and theoretical methods, 

12 including artificial intelligence, multiscale codesign, 

13 and advanced supercomputing capabilities to invent 

14 and manufacture revolutionary microelectronic de15 vices; 

16 (5) creating technology testbeds for prototyping 

17 platforms for validation and verification of new ca18 pabilities and sharing of ideas, intellectual property, 

19 and the unique facilities of the Department; 

20 (6) supporting development of cybersecurity ca21 pabilities for computing architectures that measur22 ably improve safety and security and are adaptable 

23 for existing and future applications; and 

24 (7) supporting long-term and short-term work25 force development in microelectronics. 


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1 (d) REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS.—The Director shall, 

2 at such time, in such manner, and containing such infor3 mation as the Director determines to be appropriate, issue 

4 a request for proposals from eligible entities described in 

5 subsection (b) seeking to be designated as a Center. 

6 (e) OPERATION.— 

7 (1) DURATION.— 

8 (A) IN GENERAL.—Each Center shall oper9 ate for a period of not more than 5 years, un10 less renewed for an additional 5-year period in 

11 accordance with subparagraph (B). 

12 (B) RENEWAL.— 

13 (i) INITIAL RENEWAL.—In the case of 

14 a Center that has operated for not more 

15 than 5 years, the Director may renew sup16 port for the Center on a merit-reviewed 

17 basis for a period of not more than 5 

18 years. 

19 (ii) 10-YEAR OPERATION.—In the case 

20 of a Center that has operated for not less 

21 than 5 years but not more than 10 years, 

22 the Director may renew support for the 

23 Center on a competitive, merit-reviewed 

24 basis for a period of not more than 5 

25 years. 


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1 (iii) 15-YEAR OPERATION.—In the 

2 case of a Center that has operated for not 

3 less than 10 years but not more than 15 

4 years, the Director may renew support for 

5 the Center on a merit-reviewed basis for a 

6 period of not more than 5 years. 

7 (2) TERMINATION.—Consistent with the exist8 ing authorities of the Department, the Director may 

9 terminate an underperforming Center during the 

10 performance period. 

11 (f) TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER.—The Director, in co12 ordination with the Director of the Office of Technology 

13 Transitions, shall seek to enter into partnerships with in14 dustry groups to facilitate the translation and transfer of 

15 research results produced by the Centers. 

16 (g) COORDINATION.—The Secretary shall— 

17 (1) establish a coordinating network to coordi18 nate cross-cutting research and foster communica19 tion and collaboration among the Centers; and 

20 (2) ensure coordination, and avoid unnecessary 

21 duplication, of the activities of each Center with the 

22 activities of— 

23 (A) other research entities of the Depart24 ment, including— 


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1 (i) the Nanoscale Science Research 

2 Centers; 

3 (ii) the National Quantum Informa4 tion Science Research Centers; 

5 (iii) the Energy Frontier Research 

6 Centers; 

7 (iv) the Energy Innovation Hubs; 

8 (v) the National Laboratories; and 

9 (vi) other offices of the Department; 

10 (B) the national semiconductor technology 

11 center established under section 9906(c)(1) of 

12 the William M. (Mac) Thornberry National De13 fense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 

14 (15 U.S.C. 4656(c)(1)); 

15 (C) institutions of higher education; 

16 (D) industry; and 

17 (E) relevant research activities carried out 

18 by other Federal agencies. 

19 (h) WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT.—Each Center shall 

20 support workforce development through— 

21 (1) incorporation of undergraduate students, 

22 postdoctoral fellows, graduate students, and early 

23 career researchers, as well as elementary school, sec24 ondary school, and high school students, through opVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:34 Mar 05, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00016 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3740.IS S3740

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1 portunities such as dual-enrollment programs and 

2 work-based learning programs, as applicable; 

3 (2) hands-on research and equipment training 

4 programs; 

5 (3) technical training and certificate programs 

6 for the skilled technical workforce; 

7 (4) facilitation of engagement among academic, 

8 industry, and laboratory researchers; and 

9 (5) public outreach activities, including to stu10 dents at elementary school, secondary school, high 

11 school, undergraduate, and graduate levels, which 

12 activities may include educational programming with 

13 an emphasis on experiential and project-based learn14 ing. 

15 (i) OUTREACH.—The Secretary shall conduct out16 reach to recruit applicants to the program and engage par17 ticipants from all regions of the United States, especially 

18 individuals from underserved communities and groups his19 torically underrepresented in science, technology, engi20 neering, and mathematics. 

21 (j) INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY.—The Secretary shall 

22 ensure that the intellectual property and value proposition 

23 created by the Centers are retained within the United 

24 States. 

25 (k) NOTIFICATION.— 


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1 (1) DEFINITION OF COVERED DETERMINA2 TION.—In this subsection, the term ‘‘covered deter3 mination’’ means a determination of the Secretary— 

4 (A) to designate an eligible entity as a 

5 Center under subsection (a); 

6 (B) to renew support for a Center under 

7 subsection (e)(1)(B); or 

8 (C) to terminate a Center under subsection 

9 (e)(2). 

10 (2) NOTIFICATION.—Not later than 30 days 

11 after the Secretary makes a covered determination, 

12 the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on En13 ergy and Natural Resources of the Senate and the 

14 Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the 

15 House of Representatives a notification of the cov16 ered determination, including— 

17 (A) the criteria used by the Secretary to 

18 make the covered determination; and 

19 (B) the manner in which the criteria de20 scribed in subparagraph (A) comport with the 

21 purposes of the program described in subsection 

22 (a). 

23 (l) FUNDING.—Subject to the availability of appro24 priations, the Secretary shall use not more than 


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1 $25,000,000 to fund each Center for each of fiscal years 

2 2022 through 2026. 

Æ 


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