Semiconductor initiatives in Arizona with ASU and NXP
Dr. Zachary Holman, Associate Prof., School of Electrical, Computer, and Energy Engineering, and Director of Faculty Entrepreneurship, Arizona State University, USA, spoke about the semiconductor initiatives taken on by Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering, ASU, on day 3 of the Semiconductor Business Connect 2021 organized by the SSIA.
Dr. Holman said ASU builds engineers and innovators. There over 127,500 master learners across five campuses. 25,000 students at the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering 218 national merit scholars, 232 national hispanic scholars, one-third of the Honors College. Fulton Schools faculty has received over 32 national science foundation awards over the last three years. There are 50+ graduate degree programs. There was over $127 million in research expenditures in FY 2019-20.
There are seven different schools at Ira S. Fulton Schools of Engineering, ASU. These are: School of Computing and Augmented Intelligence, The Poly School, School of Electrical, Computer, and Energy Engineering, School of Manufacturing Systems and Networks, School of Sustainable Enginnering and Built Environment, and School of Health Systems Engineering. They produce a lot of graduates. An ASU student team’s fog-free mask design won $1 million in an international competition. Another team won $340,000 in cash and services at the 5th annual pitch competition. The new entrepreneurship master’s degree combines design, business and engineering. ASU will lead the effort to upskill and reskill workforce through $8 million grant by the US Department of Labour.
ASU MTW
ASU MacroTechnology Works (MTW) is a world-class semiconductor facility. Located in Tempe, Arizona, it has 250,000 sq. ft. total capacity and 43,500 sq. ft. of cleanroom space. MTW is a research ecosystem. Its mission to be the engine of semiconductor and energy research in the USA. It is a national resource for getting new technology to pilot scale. Key capability areas have been power electronic displays, solar batteries, etc. MTW and tools are larger than university cleanroom or nanofab facilities. Core facility toolsets include advanced electronics and photonics (AEP) 150mm tools, AEP Gen II tools, and solar power lab (SPL) M2 tools.
At ASU, work is being done by corporate partners, such as Applied Materials, Cactus Materials, Swiftcoat, Advent, AmberWave, Sunflex Solar, Von Ardenne, EVG, Applied Microarrays, 2D Semiconductors, etc. The work done is across solar, semiconductors, materials, and batteries. You can join the MTW ecosystem and get access to equipment, faculty/research expertise, and pipeline of trained students. MTW can work for you, by using core faculty while onsite, leasing space onsite, and accessing core facility from afar.
Growth plans include new materials, power electronics, and advanced packaging. For new materials, there are plasma etch and deposition processes, new precusor chemistries, and advanced characterization. For power electronics, there are wide-bandgap materials, such as SiC, GaN, GaO, and diamond, high frequency and high power, and circuits with power electronics. For advanced packaging, there are chip stacking and 3D integration, integration of heterogenous materials and devices, and metallization.
NXP and Arizona
Geno Fallico, VP of Operations, Chandler Fab, NXP Semiconductors Inc., presented the closing note about what it is doing in Arizona, USA. Motorola had set up shop here, back in 1949. Their success attracted a lot of other companies.
As the semiconductor ecosystem grew in Arizona, there were some spin-offs. We became Freescale, the semiconductor division. It later merged with NXP, which has six fabs across the world. We have SSMC fab in Singapore, two in Austin, Texas, one in the Netherlands, and two in Chandler, Arizona. Using GaN on SiC means, we have a 6-inch fab in Chandler.
We have had the headquarter here for a long time, along with the university. Arizona has a stable power grid. Austin sites are not as lucky. Locally, we have a good talent pool. Nationally, it was easy to hire people. We have done projects with the university teams. Phoenix Airport is about 15 minutes from our site.
Fast forward to the rapid market recovery, we have to rapidly get back to 2019 levels. We have been aggressively ramping and adding equipment. We have good success in getting new people. We have identified training. USA and Arizona have awarded grant to ASU. Arizona has strategic water supply and power grid. We are continuing to grow. Arizona is also supporting the semiconductor industry.
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