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The U.S. CHIPS Act has moved well into the implementation stage in 2025. But where has that money gone? The Semiconductor Industry Association has been tracking these projects and provides details on its website. It was updated May. Among the five key programs being managed under CHIPS, two stand out as influencing advanced electronic packaging: the National Advanced Packaging Manufacturing Program (NAPMP), and the CHIPS Manufacturing USA Institute (MFG USA). The SIA “CHIPS R&D Programs” website shows how these programs stack up against the other programs and against the program as a whole.
Together, the NAPMP and MFG USA programs manage just over $2 billion of the $13 billion total CHIPS funding. The SIA report provides a map of the U.S, marking where these programs are located, as well as a comprehensive list of every CHIPS Act program currently funded. NAPMP comprises four separate projects, while the MFG USA program administers a single project.
Within MFG USA, the funding launches a new institute, known as SMART USA (Semiconductor Manufacturing and Advanced Research with Twins USA), which will, according to the press release, “focus on efforts to develop, validate, and use digital twins to improve domestic semiconductor design, manufacturing, advanced packaging, assembly, and test processes. SMART USA will join an existing network of seventeen institutes designed to increase U.S. manufacturing competitiveness and promote a robust R&D infrastructure.”
Among the funded NAPMP programs is an advanced packaging research facility to be launched at Arizona State University, Applied Materials for silicon-core substrate technology, a project at Absolics to develop a glass-core packaging ecosystem” for glass substrates, and a second project at Arizona State University to develop “the next generation of microelectronics packaging through fan-out-wafer-level-processing (FOWLP).”
Resources:
- Semiconductor Industry Association “CHIPS R&D Programs.”
- “CHIPS for America Announces New Proposed $285 Million Award for CHIPS Manufacturing USA Institute for Digital Twins,” commerce.gov, Nov. 19, 2024.
- “Third CHIPS for America R&D Flagship Facility Announced,” Natcast.org, Jan. 6, 2025.
- “CHIPS for America: Applied Materials,” NIST.gov.
- “CHIPS for America: Absolics Inc.,” NIST.gov.
- “Chips for America: Arizona State University,” NIST.gov.
