Initiatives - North Texas Semiconductor Institute | The University of Texas at Dallas

Conduct research and development to advance fundamental understanding of processes, materials, and devices for harsh environments (e.g. extreme temperatures, radiation exposure, etc.)
Military and space applications
Components: NSERL Clean Room; Physical Characterization Lab; Radiation Sensor Lab; Thin Film Materials Lab; Analog Center; Theory/Modeling/ Machine Learning

Custom Semiconductor Processing
and Device Support

Leverage UTD’s nanofabrication facility to:
- Enable early research and development with new material
- Enable early research and development with new devices or architectures
- Assist companies with device and process troubleshooting
Leverage UTD’s physical and electrical characterization capabilities to identify root cause issues.

Industrial fabrication facilities have limited bandwidth for new device/material development and technology deep dives.
To avoid contamination effects, any new materials must be evaluated in detail prior to fab introduction.
Complex device troubleshooting detracts from production activities.
Limited physical and electrical characterization capabilities.

Align the workforce needs and programs between the companies, 4-year colleges, community colleges, and other education stakeholders
Create and lead the North Texas Semiconductor Workforce Development Consortium (NTxS-WDC) to address the operator and technician gap.
Create and lead the North Texas Semiconductor Partnership (NTx-SP) to develop a long-term sustainable semiconductor workforce ecosystem
Develop and harmonize semiconductor-related courses for 2-yr and 4-yr institutions
Develop and offer specialty semiconductor courses for student and employee training and up-skilling

Supply the high-technology workforce necessary for North Texas to lead the nation in analog semiconductor manufacturing
Semiconductor manufacturers in North Texas will need more than 15,000 new employees through 2027
5,000 new operator and technician positions will be open through 2027; Existing community college programs supply a small fraction of these employees
North Texas four-year universities will need to increase the number of B.S. and higher degrees related to semiconductors to meet this demand

Provide shared tooling, equipment, and services to enable innovation and reduce up-front capital costs
Enable pre-competitive research and directed research in collaboration with industry
Offer expertise and specialized facilities for R&D on materials and devices for harsh environments, including unique fabrication processes and testing

Increasing markets for IOT and space systems mean that robust and resilient microelectronics for harsh environments will be needed in the future
The US government needs advanced electronics for harsh environments, which require specialized tools, materials, and testing environments
These are only available in a few facilities, creating research and development bottlenecks