Competing for the Future: A Historical Review of NIST ATP Investments in Semiconductor and Micro/Nano-Electronics June 2006

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The semiconductor and micro/nano-electronics industry plays a vital role in the continued growth of the US economy and national security.  Since 1991, the Advanced Technology Program (ATP) of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Technology Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, has funded path-breaking new technologies of importance to this industry and the infrastructure upon which it depends. This report provides a historical review of ATP’s investments in technologies of importance to this industry.

Characteristics of the Semiconductor and
Micro/Nano-Electronics Industry

Semiconductor devices and their components are the basic building blocks for a wide range of consumer and industrial electronics end equipment, such as cell phones, computers, avionics or controls. In 2008, the global sales of semiconductor devices and components are projected to be $309 billion. When incorporated into electronics end-equipment, semiconductor building blocks support a number of end-use markets, such as communications, consumer electronics, transportation, or healthcare, as examples. In 2008, the global value of the electronics end-equipment market, that is built upon semiconductor devices and components, is projected to be approximately $1.7 trillion.¹

Microelectronics typically encompasses products based on silicon and silicon compounds. Silicon-based integrated circuits (ICs) have feature sizes in the micrometer and nanometer² range. Advancement in the semiconductor industry involves a progressive reduction in dimensions of ICs and packaged chips. As the key dimensions of ICs fell below the 100 nanometer range, microelectronics became nano-electronics. In 2000, the semiconductor industry entered the nano-electronics era with the introduction of sub-100 nanometer ICs.

The semiconductor industry can be divided into two categories: front-end and back-end.  The front-end industry is commonly referred to as the chip industry. Front-end manufacturing refers to the fabrication of semiconductor ICs on chips, which are then assembled and packaged in the back-end manufacturing processes. It is the packaged semiconductor chips of the micro/nano-electronics industry that find their way into products such as PCs, cell phones, appliances, TVs, medical devices, and automobiles.

According to the 2006 annual report of the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA), “the U.S. chip industry pumps billions of dollars into the national economy, supports related industries across the country, provides more than $100 million annually to support research by U.S. universities, invests $15 billion in R&D for commercialization of products, employs 226,000 persons in the United States, and contributes significantly to U.S. exports.”³  The SIA also reports:

As important as the chip industry is within the U.S., recent trends show striking changes in the U.S. profile.  Whereas in 1999 the U.S. market share of leading-edge chip production capacity was approximately 36 percent of global output, in 2005 the U.S. share has dropped to about 14 percent.  In contrast, semiconductor manufacturing in Asia has grown appreciably during this period.

Scope of This Report

This report provides a historical summary of co-funded awards made by the NIST ATP in technologies of importance to semiconductor and micro/nano-electronics. The ATP awards within the scope of this report include those endeavors that directly involve innovations in semiconductor and micro/nano-electronics technologies that contribute to the manufacturing of future generations of IC products based upon silicon and silicon compounds. Awards in both front-end and back-end electronics manufacturing technologies are included.

R&D projects leading to products based on III-V and II-VI compound semiconductors are not included in this report. They are addressed in a separate ATP report entitled “Competing for the Future: A Historical Review of NIST ATP Investments in Photonics and Optical Technologies”.⁵  ATP awards involving micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) R&D are also excluded.

For more than a century, NIST has helped to lay the foundation for the innovation, economic growth, and quality of life that Americans have come to expect.  NIST technology, measurements, and standards help U.S. industry invent and manufacture superior products reliably, provide critical services, ensure a fair marketplace for consumers and businesses, and promote acceptance of U.S. products in foreign markets. 

The ATP, one of the three external programs within NIST, has the mission of helping U.S. companies bridge the gap between the research lab and the market place by encouraging them to pursue the development of high-risk, enabling technologies that otherwise would not be developed or that would be developed too slowly to take advantage of market opportunities. Through partnerships with the private sector, ATP's early stage investments accelerate the development of innovative technologies, deemed  too technically risky or too far from commercial viability to be considered by private sector funding sources. ATP-funded projects promise significant commercial payoffs and widespread economic benefits for the nation in the longer term.

Through a competitive, peer review process, ATP issues awards based on two rigorous technical and economic criteria:

• Scientific and technological merit—innovation, high technical risk and feasibility; and quality of R&D plan; and
• Potential for broad-based economic benefit—national economic benefits; need for ATP funding; and pathway to economic benefits.

In the 44 competitions that have been held by ATP between 1990 and 2004, and the nearly 7,000 proposals received, 768 awards in all technologies have been selected for ATP funding. These awards have involved 1,511 participants, an equal number of subcontractors, more than 170 university and 30 national laboratory participants. This amounts to 218 joint ventures and 550 single company awards and $4,371 million of funded high-risk R&D—of which the ATP share is $2,269 million and the industry share is $2,102 million.  Over 66% of all ATP awards have been made to projects led by small businesses.

NIST ATP Awards in Semiconductor and
Micro/Nano-Electronics Technologies

Broadly speaking, ATP’s funding in semiconductor and micro/nano-electronics helps the semiconductor and electronics industry, and the materials and equipment infrastructure upon which they depend, develop innovative, enabling, and path-breaking technologies for future generations of products and for strengthening the manufacturing infrastructure within U.S.

Since 1991, ATP has funded 63 awards across 20 states in semiconductor and micro/nano-electronics technologies. These awards represent approximately $467 million of total industry-based R&D, of which approximately $230 million has come from ATP and approximately $237 million of cost share from industry. The proposals ATP receives, and the projects that are funded, are the ideas and objectives of industry. They are a reflection of what high-risk R&D is needed for continued economic competitiveness, but for which a market failure exists in the ideas being funded due to the magnitude of the technical risk.

Table 1 summarizes ATP’s funding of projects for semiconductor and micro/nano-electronics technologies. Table 1 also shows the distribution of ATP awards among small, medium, and large companies. A small-size company has less than 500 employees and a large-size company is a Fortune 500 company.  A medium-size company falls between these two limits.

It is interesting to note that 23 of the 63 awards funded are joint-ventures (JVs) that involve two or more U.S. companies. A total of 215 entities have participated in these 63 ATP awards, indicating on average over three entities participate in any one award. Appendix A shows all companies, universities, or other entities that are current participants in ATP awards in semiconductor and micro/nano-electronics technologies.

Historically it is found that universities, as joint venture partners or subcontractors, have participated in a number of ATP awards in semiconductor and micro/nano-electronics technologies. A total of 32 instances of university participation, or approximately one for every two awards, in ATP awards in semiconductor and micro/nano-electronics technologies is observed.  This larger than average level of participation, relative to all ATP awards, is a reflection of the essential role universities play in developing innovations for the semiconductor and micro/nano-electronics industry. Appendix B shows all universities that are current participants in ATP awards in semiconductor and micro/nano-electronics technologies.

Table 1
NIST ATP Semiconductor and Micro/Nano-Electronics Awards and Funding

Table 2 below indicates the funding distribution among states, based on the location of the lead company for the award. The funding distribution shown does not reflect the actual funds that each state has received as projects distribute funds to several subordinate JV partners and subcontractors that may be located in other states. 

Table 2
Semiconductor and Micro/Nano-Electronics Awards and Funding Among States

* Funding amounts are a reflection of the state of residence of each award lead company. This table does not indicate the final distribution of funds to states based on the state of residences of JV partners, sub-contractors, universities, or consultants.  

Electronics Manufacturing

Innovation lies at the heart of U.S. manufacturing leadership and success. Manufacturing advances create more efficient processes and higher quality products to meet consumer demands and customer service expectations. Electronics manufacturers strive to make improvements in manufacturing technologies to reduce cost and lead times.  According to the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM):

ATP has co-funded 23 awards and stimulated approximately $184 million of total industry-based R&D with direct impact in semiconductor and electronics manufacturing. Of this approximately $92 million has come from ATP industry cost-shares each.

In 1998, ATP conducted a focused program competition on ‘Microelectronics Manufacturing Infrastructure’.⁷ The aim of this program was to help industry develop and improve technologies for microelectronics manufacturing integration, across suppliers and users, from chip to package to board. The objective was to enable world-class competitive electronic product manufacturing through product-driven industrial integration. Thus, the program intended to build manufacturing strengths within U.S. infrastructure companies, improve their capabilities, and improve the competitiveness of themselves, their customers, and the U.S. electronics industry as a whole.

Examples of ATP awards that illustrate innovations in electronics manufacturing include:

Nanotechnology for Nano-Electronics

Nanotechnology is the understanding and control of matter at dimensions of roughly 1 to 100 nanometers, where unique phenomena enable novel applications.⁸   Novel and differentiating properties and functions of nanomaterials and nano-scale devices arise at this critical length scale of matter. Nanotechnology R&D seeks to:

• Provide a fundamental understanding of phenomena and materials properties at the nanoscale, and
• Model, create, characterize, manipulate, and use nano-structures, devices, and systems that have novel properties and functions.

ATP has co-funded 11 awards and stimulated approximately $112 million of total industry-based R&D with direct impact in nanotechnology for nano-electronics. Of this approximately $58 million has come from ATP with approximately $56 million of cost-share from industry.  

Examples of ATP awards that illustrate innovations in nanotechnology for nano-electronics include:

NIST ATP Awards Aiding International Technology Roadmap
for Semiconductors (ITRS) Challenges

The International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors (ITRS), first produced in 1992 by the Semiconductor Industry Association as the National Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors, and now produced by the global semiconductor industry, is an assessment of the semiconductor industry’s technology requirements.  The document, revised every 2 years, summarizes the technology trends and identifies the technical challenges that the industry will have to overcome to continuously deliver increased functionality at lower costs.  The historical trend of reducing cost per function for electronics products - approximately 25-29 % per year – is viewed essential for the industry to realize continued market growth and further productivity increases across the economy.

Today, the ITRS represents an industry-wide view of R&D needs over the next 15-year period. Industry challenges within the 2005 ITRS are organized across specific technical and cross-cut areas.⁹

For the purpose of this report, the 63 ATP awards in semiconductor and micro/nano-electronics have been analyzed and distributed among nine technical categories that generally correspond to the eleven technical and four crosscut areas of the 2005 ITRS.  

They are:

1. Front End Processes and Lithography
2. Assembly, Packaging, and Interconnect
3. Metrology, Inspection, and Testing
4. Environment, Safety, and Health
5. Design, Modeling, and Simulation
6. Process Integration, Devices, and Structures
7. Emerging Research Devices and Organic Electronics
8. RF and Analog/Mixed-signal Technologies for Wireless Communications
9. Factory Integration

Distribution of ATP Awards in ITRS Technologies

 

The projects are a reflection of industry’s pressing concerns and do not reflect any prioritization by ATP to any technical or crosscut area. The remainder of this report provides information for each technical category including examples of ATP co-funded awards. Appendix C shows all the ATP awards in these nine technical categories.

ATP has co-funded 16 awards and stimulated approximately $98 million of total industry-based R&D with direct impact in front end processes and lithography. Of this approximately $49 million has come from ATP with approximately $48.7 million of cost-share from industry.  

Technologies related to the fabrication of ICs on the semiconductor wafer are included within this category. The wafer diameters have increased from 200 nm to 300 nm, and are projected to go to 450 nm. At the same time the dimensions of the IC’s are shrinking.  

Advances in wafer processing and lithography have major impacts on reducing IC dimensions, the cost of manufacturing, and overall reliability. These factors in turn have a direct impact on the performance and cost of products made using ICs. Challenges in this area include: new gate materials and processes; control of critical dimensions; scaling down of CMOS; control of surface interface properties; and new lithography and mask fabrication technologies.

ATP co-funded projects have created advancements in improved processing technologies, process integration, and new lithography technologies for CMOS manufacturing.

Examples of ATP awards that illustrate innovations in front end processes and lithography include:

2. Assembly and Packaging

ATP has co-funded 13 awards and stimulated approximately $103 million of total industry-based R&D with direct impact in assembly, packaging, and interconnect. Of this approximately $50 million has come from ATP with approximately $53 million of cost-share from industry.

Technologies related to the interface between the IC and the electronics system are included within this category. Package design and fabrication is a very important part of the system and addresses issues related to materials, processes, and design. Embedded passive components are required for smaller smaller dimensions, reduced costs, and improved reliability.

Examples of ATP awards that illustrate innovations in assembly, packaging and interconnection include:

ATP has co-funded eight awards and stimulated approximately $106 million of total industry-based R&D with direct impact in metrology, inspection, and testing. Of this approximately $50 million has come from ATP with approximately $53 million of cost-share from industry.

U.S. manufacturers require a wide range of tools for inspecting and measuring their output for quality and performance. Metrology is essential for development and improvement of new materials, processes, and tools for manufacturing. Inspection of wafers and masks plays a critical role in defect reduction, yield improvement, and cost reduction.

As devices become smaller, the need for defect inspection becomes more and more critical. The need for R&D is in improving sensitivities, ability to detect smaller defects, and in inspection of high-aspect-ratio structures.

Examples of ATP awards that illustrate innovations in metrology, inspection, and testing include:

4. Environment, Safety, and Health

ATP has co-funded four awards and stimulated approximately $13 million of total industry-based R&D with direct impact in environment, safety, and health. Of this approximately $8 million has come from ATP with approximately $6 million of cost-share from industry.

Reducing the use of chemicals is one of the key issues in making the semiconductor fabrication process safer and more environmentally friendly. The semiconductor industry addresses environmental issues in various ways including development of alternatives to hazardous chemicals, reduction in emission of pollutants, conservation of natural resources, and substituting environmentally benign solvents in manufacturing.  Some key challenges in environmentally benign semiconductor manufacturing include:  

• Per-fluoro compound (PFC) alternatives for wafer patterning and chamber cleaning
• CMP (chemical-mechanical polishing) wastewater minimization, recycling, and treatment
• Development of environmentally benign wet (cleaning) processes,
• Reducing process water usage and enhancing wafer rinsing performance
• Development of new processes and contaminant sensors for rinse water reuse and recycling
• Development of solventless lithography for patterning integrated circuits (ICs)
• Identification of new and environmentally-friendly processes for creation of barrier and adhesion layers for low-k dielectric polymer thin films.¹⁰

Examples of ATP awards that illustrate innovations in environment, safety and health include:

ACIM "Point*Suns": Concentrating Energy Through Silent Sound and Clean Water Design and build an energy-efficient, chemical-free nanoparticle detector and wafer cleaner to enable the semiconductor industry to clean and inspect next-generation wafers reliably and profitably locating a nanoparticle on a wafer is equivalent to finding a specific grain of sand on a baseball field. Participant: Uncopiers Inc.

5. Design, Modeling, and Simulation

ATP has co-funded two awards and stimulated approximately $13 million of total industry-based R&D with direct impact in design, modeling, and simulation. Of this approximately $7 million has come from ATP with approximately $6 million of cost-share from industry.

This category addresses a critical aspect in advancement of miniaturization in the semiconductor industry. Errors in design lead to lower yields and reduced reliability of ICs and system-on-chip (SoC). Some matters important for further miniaturization include:  accurate designs, identification and correction of design errors, designing probes for testing, and efficiently testing for defects. Miniaturization leads to reduced costs of electronic products and increases the scope of applications.

Examples of ATP awards that illustrate innovations in design, modeling and simulation include:

6. Process Integration, Devices, and Structures

ATP has co-funded six awards and stimulated approximately $17 million of total industry-based R&D with direct impact in process integration, devices, and structures. Of this approximately $11 million has come from ATP with approximately $6 million of cost-share from industry.

Technologies that affect the process flow and manufacturability associated with new ways of integrating active devices with different structures or materials; integrate different types of active devices; integrate active devices with on-chip interconnects; or that integrate different processing technologies are included within this category. Such types of integration enable the use of different materials and technologies, each having unique advantages and performance characteristics, for specific applications.

Examples of ATP awards that illustrate innovations in process integration, devices and structures include:

7. Emerging Research Devices

ATP has co-funded three awards and stimulated approximately $40 million of total industry-based R&D with direct impact in emerging research devices and organic electronics. Of this approximately $20 million has come from ATP with approximately $20 million of cost-share from industry.

Conventional semiconductor materials and processes technologies are not very well suited for large area electronic devices such as displays because of size and cost issues. Flexible electronics, organic semiconductor materials and associated manufacturing technologies offer potential solution to these hurdles.

Examples of ATP awards that illustrate innovations in emerging research devices include:

8.  RF and Analog/Mixed Signal Technologies for Wireless Communication

ATP has co-funded six awards and stimulated approximately $27 million of total industry-based R&D with direct impact in RF and Analog/Mixed-signal technologies for wireless communications. Of this approximately $13 million has come from ATP with approximately $14 million of cost-share from industry.

Wireless technologies play a critical role in emergency response, military applications, transportation, and manufacturing. Cost and performance determine how widely the technology will be applied. Advancements in wireless telecommunications require development in materials, design, and manufacturing technologies to reduce cost and improve performance.

Examples of ATP awards that illustrate innovations in RF and analog mixed signal technologies for wireless communications include:

9. Factory Integration

ATP has co-funded five awards and stimulated approximately $30.3 million of total industry-based R&D with direct impact in factory integration. Of this approximately $16 million has come from ATP with approximately $14 million of cost-share from industry.

Technologies important for improved factory productivity are included within this category. Some challenges include: technologies for operational effectiveness, integrated factory level control system, process and equipment control, manufacturing information and execution systems, data handling, and automated control systems. Overcoming these challenges enables the industry to increase equipment utilization, decrease cycle time, improve yields, and lower cost of production.

Examples of ATP awards that illustrate innovations in factory integration include:

Summary

The Advanced Technology Program (ATP) at the National Institute of Standards and Technology has co-funded, along with industry participants, high-risk innovative research that has a significant impact on the nation’s technology base, competitiveness and economic welfare of the nation.  Since 1991, ATP has funded 63 awards, across 20 states, involving 215 entities, in innovative technologies important to semiconductor and micro/nano-electronics.  This amounts to approximately $467 million of total, industry-based R&D. A large number of these ATP awards have collaborations between companies, universities, and national laboratories, with 23 out of the 63 awards being joint ventures between involving at least two or more companies. Universities have also played a critical role in ATP semiconductor and micro/nano-electronics awards as joint venture partners, subcontractors, or in transfer of technology from university research to commercial applications. A total of 32 instances of university participation, or on average one university for every two ATP awards, have occurred in this technology area. 

Contact Information

For information about the Advanced Technology Program, contact:

Telephone: (800) ATP‑FUND (800‑287‑3863)
Internet:           http://www.atp.nist.gov .
E-mail:            atp@nist.gov
FAX:                (301) 926‑9524
Mail:                100 Bureau Drive, MS4700
                       National Institute of Standards and Technology
                       Gaithersburg, MD  20899‑4700

For further information on these and other ATP funded projects, visit the ATP website at www.atp.nist.gov.

 ___________________
1. SEMI presentation by Lara Chamness, February 22, 2006,  ‘2005: A year in review for the semiconductor equipment and materials market and trends moving forward’
 http://content.semi.org/cms/groups/public/documents/newsresources/p037643.pdf.

2. A nanometer is one-billionth of a meter (10^-9 m).  The width of an average human hair is approximately 100,000 times larger than one nanometer.  

3. Semiconductor Industry Association 2006 annual report http://www.sia-online.org.

4. Semiconductor Industry Association, Choose to Compete: Semiconductors and America’s innovation leadership http://www.choosetocompete.org/us_chip_industry.html .

5. Competing for the Future: A Historical Review of NIST ATP Investments in Photonics and Optical Technologies
http://www.atp.nist.gov/iteo/elec_photon.htm.

6. National Association of Manufacturers, ‘Why Manufacturing is Essential http://www.nam.org/s_nam/sec.asp?CID=201648&DID=230169.

7. Microelectronics Manufacturing Infrastructure (MMI), 1998 Focused Program Paper http://www.atp.nist.gov/atp/97wpm212.htm.

8. http://www.nano.gov/html/facts/whatIsNano.html

9. ITRS, 2005 Edition, http://www.itrs.net/Common/2005ITRS/Home2005.htm

10. NSF/SRC Engineering Research Center for Environmentally Benign Semiconductor Manufacturing
 http://www.erc-assoc.org/factsheets/h/html/erc_h.htm

Go to Appendix A.

Date created: July 11, 2006
Last updated: August 29, 2006