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Ohio State opens $20 million semiconductor prototyping expansion
Read the full articleOhio State University unveiled an expanded semiconductor prototyping cluster backed by sixteen million dollars from the Midwest Microelectronics Consortium and state funds. The facility bridges laboratory research to commercial manufacturing and sponsors student cleanroom fellowships.
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Ohio State holds ribbon-cutting for $20 million semiconductor research and prototyping expansion
Supporting evidence (11)
The Ohio State University held a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Oct. 20 for a more than $20 million expansion of its semiconductor research and development infrastructure.
The initiative is supported by approximately $16 million in funding secured through MMEC, along with a roughly $4.5 million collaborative infrastructure investment from Ohio State and the Ohio Department of Higher Education.
Operated by Ohio State’s Institute for Materials and Manufacturing Research, the Microelectronics Innovation and Technology Cluster connects and enhances existing facilities for semiconductor processing, device prototyping and testing.
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Operated by Ohio State’s Institute for Materials and Manufacturing Research (IMR), the Microelectronics Innovation and Technology Cluster (MITEC) connects and enhances existing facilities for semiconductor processing, device prototyping and testing.
By bringing together resources across two specialized campus laboratories, Nanotech West Lab and the Semiconductor Epitaxy and Analysis Laboratory, the cluster provides an integrated environment for collaborative technology development and rapid prototyping.
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By bringing together these resources across Ohio State’s Nanotech West Lab and the Semiconductor Epitaxy and Analysis Laboratory, MITEC provides an integrated, flexible environment for collaborative technology development and rapid prototyping.
Steven Ringel, a senior research administrator and professor who leads MITEC, said the capabilities aim to support device development and prototyping for defense and commercial technology transitions.
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MITEC is led by Steven Ringel, a Distinguished University Professor and senior associate vice president for research at Ohio State.
Steven Ringel, a senior research administrator and professor who leads MITEC, said the capabilities aim to support device development and prototyping for defense and commercial technology transitions.
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“The new MITEC capabilities will have a significant impact on Ohio State’s semiconductor ecosystem and infrastructure, with the goal to support device development and prototyping for defense and commercial technology transitions working with the consortium,” Ringel said.
Horack noted that demonstrating technology in a lab is one thing, adding that doing it at scale is another challenge.
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“It’s one thing to demonstrate something in a lab,” Horack said. “It’s another thing to do it at scale.”
The cluster supports semiconductor development using industry-compatible wafer dimensions beyond the expected scale of academic research, reducing the time needed to move new technologies into commercial production.
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MITEC supports semiconductor development using wafer sizes and processes compatible with industrial manufacturing beyond the expected scale of academic research. This allows researchers and industry partners to develop materials and prototype devices at a scale closer to commercial production, helping reduce the time needed to move new technologies from the laboratory into manufacturing and commercialization.
Matt Casto, chief executive officer of the Midwest Microelectronics Consortium, said Ohio State aligns with the consortium's mission to strengthen America's microelectronics capabilities and supply chain.
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“Ohio State is an important strategic partner and is aligned in MMEC’s mission to strengthen America’s microelectronics capabilities and supply chain,” said MMEC CEO Matt Casto.
Workforce development programs are underway, with fellowships sponsored by MMEC providing undergraduate and graduate students with hands-on research and prototyping experience in Nanotech West Lab’s cleanroom.
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Workforce development and experiential learning initiatives are already underway, with MMEC-sponsored fellowships providing undergraduate and graduate students with hands-on research and prototyping experience in Nanotech West Lab’s cleanroom.
Students work with wide bandgap semiconductors for high-power electronics as well as narrow bandgap materials used for infrared sensing.
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Students work with wide bandgap semiconductors, materials used in high-power and high-speed electronics, as well as narrow bandgap semiconductors required for infrared sensing, while receiving training from experienced staff and helping accelerate the development of new technologies.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/science/articles/ohio-state-lab-gets-20-090951593.html
Supporting evidence (9)
Ringel noted that machinery now in the labs includes some of the only systems of their kind in the country, and the only openly accessible machine of its kind in the United States.
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Ringel said the machinery that now sits in the labs are some of the only systems of their kind in the country, and the only openly accessible machine of its kind in the U.S.
"This kind of thing doesn't look like your grandfather's university lab," Ringel said at the ribbon-cutting ceremony, motioning around heavy white machinery and rafters covered in silver tubes, adding that he expects the equipment to see heavy use.
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"This kind of thing doesn't look like your grandfather's university lab," Ringel said at a ribbon-cutting ceremony inside the lab, motioning around the lab's heavy white machinery and rafters covered in silver tubes. "... I expect it to have heavy, heavy use."
The labs focus on studying and prototyping chips using nitride-based and gallium oxide-based materials, which are used for applications requiring higher voltages, temperatures and switching speeds than silicon.
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The labs go beyond what most people think of as traditional silicon chip production and focus on studying and prototyping chips using nitride-based and gallium oxide-based materials, Ringel said. Those materials are used for applications that require higher voltages, temperatures and switching speeds than silicon, like high-power electronics, radars and electric vehicles.
John Horack, vice president for research at Ohio State, said the work helps bridge the gap between traditional university research and full-scale commercial production, or "lab-to-fab" for short.
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John Horack, vice president for research at Ohio State, said the work being done at MITEC helps bridge the gap between traditional university research work and full-scale commercial production, or "lab-to-fab" for short.
Horack likened the work to Charles Goodyear discovering vulcanized rubber in a lab, noting that a breakthrough remains a long way from a finished tire.
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Horack likened it to Charles Goodyear discovering vulcanized rubber in the lab. It was a revolutionary discovery, but still a long way from a car tire.
The consortium, located in Dayton, launched in 2023 backed by $2 billion in federal support from the CHIPS and Science Act.
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The MMEC, located in Dayton, launched in 2023 backed by $2 billion in federal CHIPS Science Act funding.
Earlier on Oct. 20, university officials broke ground on the Timashev Technology Tower, a planned 103,000-square-foot, eight-story building on west campus that is scheduled to open in September 2028 to house startups and industry partners.
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Earlier that day, university officials broke ground Oct. 20 on the Timashev Technology Tower, a planned 103,000-square-foot, eight-story building that will one day house community-led and university-born startups, as well as industry partners. The building, expected to open in September 2028, will be Ohio State's latest expansion on the west campus Innovation District.
In nearby New Albany, construction on Intel's Ohio facilities reached a milestone with the raising of the first structural truss for the $30 billion project.
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In nearby New Albany, construction on Intel's Ohio facilities recently reached a milestone as the company touted its commitment to production in the United States. The first structural truss for the $30 billion project was recently raised on the Licking County project.
Ringel described the university's continued investment and growth on west campus as a rising tide for everyone.
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He see the university's continued investment and growth on west campus as "a rising tide" for everyone.
Research, tech, and innovation district on the campus of The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio.