May 17, 2006 - SEMATECH's R&D fab subsidiary Advanced Technology Development Facility (ATDF) and the U. of Texas-Austin have formed an Advanced Processing and Prototyping Center (AP2C), a specialized R&D program to develop leading-edge nanotechnology for use in semiconductor manufacturing.
The AP2C, funded by a $5 million grant from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), will involve several areas of research, including: step-and-flash imprint lithography; circuit patterning through directed self-assembly; fabrication of nanoscale field-effect transistors (FETs) composed of germanium nanowires; quantum transport; optical interconnects; spintronics memory; and work with silicon-germanium-carbon structures and III-V compound semiconductors.
The center will be physically located within existing offices and labs at UT-Austin, UT-Dallas, SEMATECH, and ATDF, involving approximately 200 professors, graduate students, engineers, and manufacturing technicians.
"AP2C will help define the future shape of nanoelectronics, and will allow our industry and other industries that have traditionally benefited from advancements in smaller, faster, innovative chip manufacturing capabilities, to continue accelerating forward," stated Randy Goodall, director of external programs for SEMATECH.
