I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 6291 

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 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 14, 2021 

Mr. TONKO (for himself and Mr. ELLZEY) introduced the following bill; which 

was referred to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology 

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’’ or the ‘‘Micro Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 

8 (1) DEPARTMENT.—The term ‘‘Department’’ 

9 means the Department of Energy. 


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1 (2) HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGE AND UNI2 VERSITY.—The term ‘‘historically Black college and 

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

4 institution’’ in section 322 of the Higher Education 

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

6 (3) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 

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

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

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

10 (4) MINORITY SERVING INSTITUTION.—The 

11 term ‘‘minority serving institution’’ includes the en12 tities described in any of the paragraphs (1) through 

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

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

15 (5) NATIONAL LABORATORY.—The term ‘‘Na16 tional Laboratory’’ has the meaning given the term 

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

18 U.S.C. 15801). 

19 (6) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

20 the Secretary of Energy. 

21 (7) TRIBAL COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY.—The 

22 term ‘‘Tribal College and University’’ has the mean23 ing given in section 316 of the Higher Education 

24 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1059c). 


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1 SEC. 3. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds that— 

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

4 major technological challenges and opportunities for 

5 the United States and important implications for na6 tional security, economic competitiveness, and sci7 entific discovery; 

8 (2) future progress and innovation in microelec9 tronics, and maintaining a robust domestic micro10 electronics supply chain, will require an approach 

11 that advances relevant materials science, electronic 

12 and photonic device technologies, processing and 

13 packaging technologies, manufacturing technologies, 

14 circuit, chip, and system architecture, and software 

15 system and algorithm development in a co-design 

16 fashion; 

17 (3) the National Laboratories possess unique 

18 technical expertise and user facilities that are essen19 tial to overcoming foundational research challenges 

20 relevant to the topics described in paragraph (2), 

21 and translating and transferring research outcomes 

22 to industry; and 

23 (4) the assets described in paragraph (3) will 

24 enable the Department to drive advances in micro25 electronics that are essential to meeting future needs 

26 in areas critical to its mission as well as the future 


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1 competitiveness of the domestic microelectronics in2 dustry, including high-performance computing, 

3 emerging data-centric computing approaches, and 

4 energy-efficient computing; optical sensors, sources, 

5 and wireless networks; and power electronics and 

6 electricity delivery systems. 

7 SEC. 4. MICROELECTRONICS RESEARCH PROGRAM. 

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

9 cross-cutting program of research, development, and dem10 onstration of microelectronics relevant to the mission of 

11 the Department and in the service of the Nation’s global 

12 competitiveness in the field of microelectronics. 

13 (b) RESEARCH AREAS.—In carrying out the program 

14 under subsection (a), the Secretary shall award financial 

15 assistance to eligible entities under subsection (c) to carry 

16 out research projects in— 

17 (1) foundational science areas, including— 

18 (A) materials sciences, chemical sciences, 

19 and plasma science synthesis, and fabrication; 

20 (B) novel microelectronics devices, includ21 ing emerging memory and storage technologies; 

22 (C) diverse computing architectures and 

23 paradigms, including analog computing and 

24 edge computing; 

25 (D) data-driven modeling and simulation; 


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1 (E) integrated sensing, power harvesting, 

2 and communications; 

3 (F) component integration and subsystems; 

4 (G) photonic integration; and 

5 (H) development of co-design frameworks 

6 for all stages of microelectronics design, devel7 opment, fabrication, and application; 

8 (2) methods for leveraging advanced simulation, 

9 artificial intelligence, and machine learning to en10 hance co-design and discovery in microelectronics; 

11 (3) in consultation with the National Institute 

12 of Standards and Technology, fabrication and proc13 essing science and metrology associated with micro14 electronics manufacturing, including lithography, 

15 patterning, surface deposition, etching, and cleaning; 

16 (4) approaches for optimizing system-level ad17 vanced computing energy efficiency for the electrical 

18 grid, power electronics, and other energy infrastruc19 ture; 

20 (5) approaches for enhancing the durability and 

21 lifetime of radiation-hardened electronics; and 

22 (6) enhancement of microelectronics security, 

23 including the development of integrated devices, 

24 packages, and thermal management for severe envi25 ronments and national security. 


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1 (c) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—The entities eligible to re2 ceive financial assistance under this section include— 

3 (1) an institution of higher education, including 

4 historically Black colleges and universities, Tribal 

5 colleges and universities, and minority serving insti6 tutions; 

7 (2) a nonprofit research organization; 

8 (3) a State research agency; 

9 (4) a National Laboratory; 

10 (5) a private commercial entity; 

11 (6) a partnership or consortium of 2 or more 

12 entities described in paragraphs (1) through (5); and 

13 (7) any other entities the Secretary deems ap14 propriate. 

15 (d) TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER.—In carrying out the 

16 program described in subsection (a), the Secretary, in co17 ordination with the Director of the Office of Technology 

18 Transitions shall support translational research and trans19 fer of microelectronics technologies for the benefit of 

20 United States economic competitiveness. 

21 (e) EDUCATION AND OUTREACH.—In carrying out 

22 the program under subsection (a), the Secretary shall sup23 port education and outreach activities to disseminate in24 formation and promote public understanding of microelec25 tronics and the microelectronics workforce. 


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1 (f) REPORT.—Not less than 180 days after the enact2 ment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the Com3 mittee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House 

4 of Representatives, and the Committee on Energy and 

5 Natural Resources of the Senate, a report describing the 

6 goals, priorities, and anticipated outcomes of the program 

7 described in subsection (a). 

8 (g) FUNDING.—There are authorized to be appro9 priated to the Secretary to carry out the activities de10 scribed in this section— 

11 (1) $75,000,000 for fiscal year 2022; 

12 (2) $100,000,000 for fiscal year 2023; 

13 (3) $100,000,000 for fiscal year 2024; 

14 (4) $100,000,000 for fiscal year 2025; and 

15 (5) $100,000,000 for fiscal year 2026. 

16 SEC. 5. MICROELECTRONICS SCIENCE RESEARCH CEN17 TERS. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out the program 

19 under section 4, the Secretary, acting through the Direc20 tor of the Office of Science, shall establish up to four 

21 Microelectronics Science Research Centers (referred to in 

22 this section as ‘‘Centers’’) to conduct mission-driven re23 search to address foundational challenges in the design, 

24 development, and fabrication of microelectronics and to fa25 cilitate the translation of research results to industry. 


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1 (b) ACTIVITIES.—The activities of the Centers au2 thorized under this section shall include research, develop3 ment, and demonstration activities for— 

4 (1) accelerating the development of new micro5 electronics science and technology, including mate6 rials, devices, circuits, systems, architectures, fab7 rication tools, processes, diagnostics, modeling, syn8 thesis, and metrology; 

9 (2) advancing the sustainability and energy effi10 ciency of new microelectronics devices, packages, and 

11 systems; 

12 (3) application-driven co-design and prototyping 

13 of novel devices to facilitate laboratory-to-fabrication 

14 transition; 

15 (4) advancing knowledge and experimental ca16 pabilities in surface and materials science, plasma 

17 science, and computational and theoretical methods, 

18 including artificial intelligence, machine learning, 

19 multi-scale co-design, and advanced supercomputing 

20 capabilities to invent and manufacture revolutionary 

21 microelectronic devices; 

22 (5) creating technology testbeds for prototyping 

23 platforms for validation and verification of new ca24 pabilities and sharing of ideas, intellectual property, 

25 and the unique facilities of the Department; and 


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1 (6) supporting long-term and short-term work2 force development in microelectronics. 

3 (c) REQUIREMENTS.— 

4 (1) SELECTION AND DURATION.—The Director 

5 of the Office of Science shall select Centers on a 

6 competitive, merit-reviewed basis for a period of not 

7 more than 5 years, subject to the availability of ap8 propriations, beginning on the date of establishment 

9 of that Center. 

10 (2) APPLICATIONS.—An eligible applicant under 

11 this subsection shall submit to the Director of the 

12 Office of Science an application at such time, in 

13 such manner, and containing such information as 

14 the Director deems appropriate. 

15 (3) ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS.—The Director of 

16 the Office of Science shall consider applications from 

17 National Laboratories, institutions of higher edu18 cation, research centers, or a consortia thereof, or 

19 any other entity that the Secretary of Energy deems 

20 appropriate. 

21 (4) RENEWAL.—After the end of either period 

22 described in paragraph (1), the Director of the Of23 fice of Science may renew support for the Center for 

24 a period of not more than 5 years on a merit-re25 viewed basis. For a Center in operation for 10 years 


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1 after its previous selection on a competitive, merit2 reviewed basis, the Director may renew support for 

3 the center on a competitive, merit-reviewed basis for 

4 a period of not more than 5 years, and may subse5 quently provide an additional renewal on a merit-re6 viewed basis for a period of not more than 5 years. 

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

9 the Office of Science may terminate an underper10 forming center for cause during the performance pe11 riod. 

12 (d) TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER.—The Director of the 

13 Office of Science, in coordination with the Director of the 

14 Office of Technology Transitions, shall implement part15 nerships with industry groups for the purpose of facili16 tating the translation and transfer of research results pro17 duced by the Centers. 

18 (e) COORDINATION.—The Secretary shall— 

19 (1) establish a coordinating network to coordi20 nate cross-cutting research and foster communica21 tion and collaboration among the Centers; and 

22 (2) ensure the coordination, and avoid unneces23 sary duplication, of the activities of each Center with 

24 the activities of— 


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1 (A) other research entities of the Depart2 ment, including— 

3 (i) the Nanoscale Science Research 

4 Centers; 

5 (ii) the National Quantum Informa6 tion Science Research Centers; 

7 (iii) the Energy Frontier Research 

8 Centers; 

9 (iv) the Energy Innovation Hubs; and 

10 (v) the National Laboratories; 

11 (B) the National Semiconductor Tech12 nology Center authorized in title XCIX of divi13 sion H of the William M. (Mac) Thornberry 

14 National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal 

15 Year 2021 (Public Law 116–283); 

16 (C) institutions of higher education; 

17 (D) industry; and 

18 (E) research activities carried out by other 

19 Federal agencies. 

20 (f) FUNDING.—The Secretary of Energy shall allo21 cate up to $25,000,000 for each Center established under 

22 this section for each of fiscal years 2022 through 2026, 

23 subject to the availability of appropriations. 

Æ 


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