Next-Generation Microelectronics Manufacturing Opens Phases 1 and 2

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DARPA is seeking collaboration that will shape the Next-Generation Microelectronics Manufacturing (NGMM) program – an effort to help usher in a new era of microchips and their future applications.

With the NGMM program, DARPA intends to pioneer revolutionary science and technology achievements that will propel the next major wave in the manufacture of high-performance microelectronics – specifically, through three-dimensional heterogeneous integration (3DHI). Given the agency’s expectation that future innovation hinges on the fusion of diverse materials, devices, and circuits through advanced packaging, 3DHI will be key to U.S. technological leadership. The foundational goal of NGMM: to achieve national-level, 3DHI-driven breakthroughs comprising novel design and engineering.

The program is designed to establish a state-of-the-art, domestic capability for research, development, and production of 3DHI microelectronics at an existing location. This centralized 3DHI accelerator will focus specifically on advancing groundbreaking research, development, and collaboration, and will include an accessible pilot line for prototyping and early production of emerging microelectronics.

“Rapidly shifting geopolitics and the COVID-19 pandemic have highlighted the need for stronger domestic supply chains – including U.S. microelectronics R&D, fabrication, packaging, and assembly,” said Dr. Dev Palmer, NGMM managing director at DARPA. “Our goal is to strengthen long-term national security through trailblazing work in 3DHI that’s critical to technological superiority and sustains the U.S. competitive advantage.”

In a Nov. 3 announcement, DARPA issued a call for prospective partners to join NGMM’s upcoming Proposers Day, scheduled for Nov. 28. The Proposers Day will convene members of industry, academia, and government to promote program goals, collaboration, and the exchange of ideas and contributions. The Proposers Day is open only to registered attendees and the deadline for registration is Tuesday, Nov. 21.

NGMM – funded solely by the Defense Department budget – targets over-the-horizon advances in 3DHI and microelectronics complexities of tomorrow. NGMM is making strides against a backdrop of broader government efforts to address domestic microelectronics fabrication, including the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022, which focuses on near-term, silicon-based microchips and semiconductor technologies.

The envisioned self-sustaining 3DHI manufacturing center will be owned and operated by a non-federal entity that offers unprecedented accessibility to U.S. users from academia, government, and industry. This would support streamlined standardization, fabrication, assembly, and testing of diverse R&D designs.

NGMM is a cornerstone of ERI 2.0, a DARPA initiative to ensure domestic leadership in cross-functional, future-focused microelectronics research, development, and manufacturing. Built on collaboration with industry and academia, ERI 2.0 targets national-level microelectronics concerns through a thematic portfolio of programs aimed at U.S. national security and economic interests.