The US Department of Defense is directing $31.9m in funding to the California Defense Ready Electronics and Microdevices Superhub (CA DREAMS), led by USC Viterbi’s Information Sciences Institute. The award aims to accelerate the development of advanced semiconductor technologies.

Through a collaboration initiated by the CA DREAMS hub, UC Santa Barbara’s Nanofabrication Facility is leveraging data analytics tools from PDF Solutions to improve uniformity and repeatability in academic nanofab processes. If successful, it could put the hub on the right path to accelerating lab-to-fab transitions.

California DREAMS is exploring its potential to combine the capabilities of its industry-leading institutions into one place. Seven university nanofabrication laboratories are a part of DREAMS, each with unique strengths that the superhub is working to standardize into a sum even greater than its parts.

Established at USC Viterbi’s Information Sciences Institute (ISI) in 1981, MOSIS revolutionized the world of silicon-based semiconductor manufacturing. Now, as the industry faces new challenges and opportunities, MOSIS is embarking on its next phase: MOSIS 2.0, a pioneering initiative at the heart of California DREAMS, the Defense Ready Electronics and Microdevices SuperHub.

Marking their first official site visit, a select group of government, industry, and academic leaders recently gathered at Northrop Grumman’s Space Park campus to discuss their role in a landmark effort to expand research, development, and production of essential advanced microelectronics technologies in the United States.

The funds for the Microelectronics Commons project support a USC-led hub involving 16 other university, community college and corporate collaborators.