{"667608":{"#nid":"667608","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Georgia Tech Addressing the Nation\u2019s Call for Semiconductors","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003ESemiconductors, or microchips, are vital to life in the modern world. They\u2019re used in the microwave you heated your breakfast in this morning, the car you drove to work, the mobile phone you shouldn\u2019t use while driving, the bank ATM you visited, and the screened device you\u2019re reading this story on.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EThey\u2019re in our TVs, refrigerators, and washing machines, helping us live comfortable lives. They also help us stay alive as part of the medical network, used in pacemakers, blood pressure monitors, and MRI machines, among other things. Also, our national economic and defense systems rely on them. Basically, semiconductors control and manage the flow of information in the machinery that keeps the world going.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EAnd right now, at Georgia Tech, researchers are working to innovate chip technology to ensure that U.S. semiconductor development is globally competitive, reliable, sustainable, and resilient, today and in the future. \u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u201cIf you look at semiconductors, or the whole area of computing, it spans across Georgia Tech \u2014 across many different schools and disciplines,\u201d said \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/ece.gatech.edu\/directory\/arijit-raychowdhury\u0022\u003EArijit Raychudhury\u003C\/a\u003E, professor and Steve W. Chaddick Chair in the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/ece.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ESchool of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE)\u003C\/a\u003E. \u201cStarting with physics and chemistry, where we essentially learn how different types of materials will react, to materials science and engineering, to electrical engineering and computer engineering, to computer science.\u201d\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EIt\u0027s a diverse, multidisciplinary enterprise from bottom to top, Raychudhury noted. And there is still plenty of room at the bottom, as theoretical physicist Richard P. Feynman famously said more than 60 years ago, predicting that one day we\u2019d be making things at the atomic level. We are. It\u2019s a familiar realm to \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.cse.gatech.edu\/people\/victor-fung\u0022\u003EVictor Fung\u003C\/a\u003E and his lab, where they are designing new materials for semiconductors from the ground up, atom by atom.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u201cWe are interested in exploring how to translate the latest advances in AI and machine learning to aid in accelerating computational materials simulations and materials discovery,\u201d said Fung, assistant professor in the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.cse.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ESchool of Computational Science\u003C\/a\u003E. \u201cWe\u2019ve been developing methods which can accurately predict a wide range of materials\u2019 properties, to greatly facilitate high-throughput materials screening.\u201d\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.fung-group.org\/\u0022\u003EFung\u2019s lab\u003C\/a\u003E is using AI to discover previously unstudied materials with the electronic properties to build into chips. This approach to creating \u201cdesigner\u201d semiconductors would be significantly faster and cover more of the materials space than current methods.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Ch3\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EImproving the Landscape\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/h3\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003ESmaller, more efficient, and more powerful are all part of the constantly evolving landscape in semiconductor research and development. It\u2019s a very expensive landscape. While many chips are about the size of a fingernail, they are among the most complex human-made objects on Earth. Just building a semiconductor fabrication factory costs billions of dollars.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EFor a chemical engineer like \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.chbe.gatech.edu\/people\/michael-filler\u0022\u003EMichael Filler\u003C\/a\u003E, that sounds like opportunity.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u201cChemical engineers think about how we produce products on a massive scale,\u201d said Filler, associate professor in the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.chbe.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ESchool of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering\u003C\/a\u003E and associate director of the \u003C\/span\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/research.gatech.edu\/nano\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EInstitute for Electronics and Nanotechnology (IEN)\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E. \u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EFiller, whose research involves the growing of semiconductor components, like transistors, from seed particles, is aiming to help democratize the process of chip development, bringing down the cost substantially while maintaining performance. In a not too distant future, that could mean an individual at home printing a chip on a machine similar to a 3D printer.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u201cImagine a laser printer that can literally spit out custom electronics in a matter of minutes,\u201d Filler said. \u201cWe\u2019re big believers in the individual\u2019s ability to be creative and know what they want to build for their applications. Ultimately, we\u2019re interested in giving makers and prototypers opportunities to customize electronics.\u201d\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EHe\u2019s in the right place for the far-reaching research he has in mind, adding, \u201cWe are so blessed with great facilities at Georgia Tech. It would be hard to imagine working somewhere else, because very few places have the diversity and quality of tooling we have here.\u201d\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EIEN, which facilitates much of the semiconductor research at Georgia Tech, is based in the Marcus Nanotechnology Building, with its state-of-the-art micro\/nano fabrication facilities such as the shared cleanroom space and a laser machine lab for micromachining. \u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EBut it is the range of expertise and creativity among faculty and students who are making IEN and Georgia Tech a thought leader in semiconductor research. This is evidenced by Tech\u2019s recent grant of \u003C\/span\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/research.gatech.edu\/georgia-tech-receives-65-million-grant-semiconductor-research-corporation-jump-20-centers\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E$65.7 million from the Semiconductor Research Corporation and the Defense Research Projects Agency to launch two new interdisciplinary research centers.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EEvents like \u003C\/span\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/research.gatech.edu\/nano\/GT-chips-day\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EGeorgia Tech Chip Day\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E (May 2) and \u003C\/span\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.nanowireweek2023.info\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan\u003ENanowire Week\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E, an international gathering happening in Atlanta in October, also speak to Tech\u2019s growing influence in this area.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Ch3\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EAnswering the Call\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/h3\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EThe Covid-19 pandemic clarified just how difficult it can be to make more chips. A shortage of semiconductors affected the supply of phones, computers, and other commonly used items during the global shutdown. Increased demand, depleted reserves, and too few manufacturing plants and workers significantly crippled the supply chain. \u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u201cThe high degree of geographic concentration in certain parts of the semiconductor supply chain has recently created a heightened risk of supply interruptions,\u201d said \u003Cspan\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.isye.gatech.edu\/users\/chelsea-white\u0022\u003EChip White\u003C\/a\u003E, \u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cspan\u003ESchneider National Chair in Transportation and Logistics and professor\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E in the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.isye.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EH. Milton Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISyE)\u003C\/a\u003E. \u201cSuch interruptions and resulting wild fluctuations in semiconductor demand can threaten the nation\u2019s public health, defense, and economic security.\u201d\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EWith that in mind, translational supply chain research is going on in several places on campus, White said, including the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.scl.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ESupply Chain and Logistics Institute\u003C\/a\u003E and the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.ai4opt.org\/\u0022\u003ENSF AI Research Institute for Advances in Optimization\u003C\/a\u003E. White and his colleagues are developing software platforms for stress testing manufacturing supply chains. The goal is to identify vulnerabilities and risk mitigation procedures to design and operate next generation supply chains for critical industries such as the semiconductor industry, to improve global competitiveness and strike a balance between market forces and national security.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EIn an effort to address and feed the next generation demand for chips, the Biden administration recently launched a massive effort to outcompete China in semiconductor manufacturing, offering $39 billion in funding incentives for companies seeking to build plants in the U.S.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EAnother related area of importance in the ongoing development of semiconductors is growing the workforce of the future, and that includes a new wave of researchers. This is a role that \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/ece.gatech.edu\/directory\/jennifer-olson-hasler\u0022\u003EJennifer Hasler \u003C\/a\u003Etakes seriously. \u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u201cI have a strong interest and belief in mentoring,\u201d said Hasler, ECE professor and founder of the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/hasler.ece.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EIntegrated Computational Electronics lab\u003C\/a\u003E at Georgia Tech. She\u2019s proven, theoretically at least, that the technology already exists to build a silicon-based version of the human cerebral cortex (which would cost billions of dollars to design and build), but one of her favorite roles is working with new, young faculty.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u201cIt\u2019s a personal thing for me, but it\u2019s one of the coolest things I\u2019m involved in,\u201d she said. \u201cWhen they come to Georgia Tech, they see how big this place is, bigger than a company. I like to say to them, \u2018Let\u2019s calm down, take a breath, you\u2019re good, so let\u2019s go make some cool stuff. Let\u2019s get some momentum going.\u2019\u201d\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EFor Raychowdhury, director of the new \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.src.org\/program\/jump2\/cocosys\/#:~:text=COCOSYS%20aims%20to%20enable%20the,and%20collective%20and%20collaborative%20intelligence.\u0022\u003ECenter for the \u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.src.org\/program\/jump2\/cocosys\/#:~:text=COCOSYS%20aims%20to%20enable%20the,and%20collective%20and%20collaborative%20intelligence.\u0022\u003ECo-Design of Cognitive Systems\u003C\/a\u003E (part of the JUMP 2.0 program), developing the skilled workforce of the future means answering the call of the nation.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u201cThis is one of the largest ECE departments in the country, with many, many talented students,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd given the need and shortage of skilled professionals in this particular area, I think it\u2019s critical for us to create that kind of pipeline.\u201d Last year, ECE undergraduate students started taking a new, two-semester course, sponsored by Apple, in which they actually build microprocessors from scratch. \u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u201cThis is completely new,\u201d Raychowdhury said. \u201cIt\u2019s expensive to offer this course, but we plan to keep doing it and we\u2019re in conversations with other companies that want to invest in workforce development. So, in addition to doing fantastic research, we want to be sensitive to the needs of the country and a new generation.\u201d\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech\u0027s multidisciplinary semiconductor researchers working to innovate chip technology to ensure U.S. competitiveness\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Georgia Tech\u0027s multidisciplinary semiconductor researchers working to innovate chip technology to ensure U.S. competitiveness"}],"uid":"28153","created_gmt":"2023-05-02 17:25:16","changed_gmt":"2023-05-05 13:47:06","author":"Jerry Grillo","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2023-05-02T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2023-05-02T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"670757":{"id":"670757","type":"image","title":"IEN cleanroom staff member holding a wafer","body":null,"created":"1683294311","gmt_created":"2023-05-05 13:45:11","changed":"1683294366","gmt_changed":"2023-05-05 13:46:06","alt":"Cleanroom worker holding a wafer","file":{"fid":"253680","name":"IEN-person-wafer.png","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2023\/05\/05\/IEN-person-wafer.png","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2023\/05\/05\/IEN-person-wafer.png","mime":"image\/png","size":311467,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2023\/05\/05\/IEN-person-wafer.png?itok=KpXbVZbt"}},"670713":{"id":"670713","type":"image","title":"Semiconductor Researchers","body":"\u003Cp\u003ELeft to right: Arijit Raychowdhury, Victor Fung, Jennifer Hasler, Michael Filler, Chip White\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","created":"1683042732","gmt_created":"2023-05-02 15:52:12","changed":"1683042828","gmt_changed":"2023-05-02 15:53:48","alt":"Semiconductor researchers","file":{"fid":"253625","name":"semiconductor team.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2023\/05\/02\/semiconductor%20team.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2023\/05\/02\/semiconductor%20team.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":481819,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2023\/05\/02\/semiconductor%20team.jpg?itok=OfU7eiUh"}}},"media_ids":["670757","670713"],"groups":[{"id":"197261","name":"Institute for Electronics and Nanotechnology"}],"categories":[{"id":"149","name":"Nanotechnology and Nanoscience"}],"keywords":[{"id":"187915","name":"go-researchnews"},{"id":"187433","name":"go-ien"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39451","name":"Electronics and Nanotechnology"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EWriter: \u003Ca href=\u0022jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EJerry Grillo\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}