Highlights
- US Department of Defense has awarded $238M in FY23 CHIPS and Science Act funding for the establishment of eight Microelectronics Commons regional innovation hubs
- BluGlass named a member of the Commercial Leap Ahead for Wide Bandgap Semiconductors (CLAWS) Hub, led by North Carolina State University (NCSU)
- The CLAWs Hub has been awarded US$39.4M
Global semiconductor developer BluGlass Limited (ASX: BLG) has been named a member of the Commercial Leap Ahead for Wide-bandgap Semiconductors (CLAWS) Hub, one of eight Microelectronics Commons regional innovation hubs announced by the US Department of Defense.
The US Department of Defense awarded US$238M in CHIPS and Science Act funding in FY231 for the establishment of eight regional innovation hubs, as part of the US$2B allocated to the ME Commons Program from FY23-272. The Microelectronics Commons is focused on bridging and accelerating the lab-to-fab transition and mitigating supply chain risks and will supercharge America’s ability to develop, prototype, manufacture, and produce cutting-edge microelectronics at scale.
The CLAWS Hub, led by North Carolina State University (NCSU), has been awarded US$39.4M for the base year of performance and consists of seven hub members, including BluGlass Limited.
The hub members (alphabetical order) are:
- North Carolina State University (Hub Lead)
- Adroit Materials
- BluGlass Limited
- Coherent
- General Electric
- Kyma
- North Carolina A&T State University
- Wolfspeed
BluGlass CEO Jim Haden said, “We are thrilled to be part of the Commercial Leap Ahead for Wide Bandgap Semiconductors (CLAWS) Hub to develop next-generation photonic devices that will have significant commercial and strategic defence applications in the decades ahead. The work we will be contributing to the hub perfectly aligns with BluGlass’ wide-bandgap and extended-wavelength roadmaps and will leverage the benefits of our proprietary RPCVD technology.”
Wide bandgap semiconductors, such as indium gallium nitride, offer higher voltage and temperature capacity than traditional silicon chips. They have wide and growing applications in power electronics, radio frequency, and wireless devices; as well as photonics devices such as visible lasers for next-generation sensing, communications, artificial intelligence, and quantum technology applications.
“We are delighted to be partnering with BluGlass in the NCSU-led CLAWS Hub working together to innovate next-generation III-N photonic and optoelectronic solutions with BluGlass further adding a path to commercialization. The photonic technologies in the hub hold the potential to enable quantum technologies, communications, artificial intelligence applications, position/navigation/timing, biotechnical and medical, materials processing, displays, and a host of additional defense needs,” said Fred Kish, MC Dean Distinguished Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering. “They are also important for national security applications by providing energy efficiency, size, weight, power, and performance advantages in critical application areas including weapons systems, war fighter outfitting, and a host of additional defense needs.”
The Commercial Leap Ahead for Wide-bandgap Semiconductors (CLAWS) Hub Announcement is available to view here https://news.ncsu.edu/2023/10/nc-state-to-lead-regional-semiconductor-innovation-hub/
North Carolina State University has been awarded US$39.4M for FY23 to establish the Commercial Leap Ahead for Wide-bandgap Semiconductors (CLAWS) Hub. The contractual terms and funding agreement between NCSU and seven Hub Members remains under negotiation. The Company looks forward to updating the market on reaching an agreement with NCSU and the key terms of the contract if and when they become available.
- https://www.defense.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/3531768/deputy-secretary-of-defense-kathleen-hicks-announces-238m-chips-and-science-act/
- US FY23 begins 1 October 2022 and ends 30 September 2023
This announcement has been approved for release by the Board.
