IPC, the global association for electronics manufacturing, praised today’s issuance from the CHIPS for America R&D Office, through the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), of a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for research and development activities that will establish and accelerate domestic capacity for advanced packaging substrates and substrate materials.
“IPC applauds this very important milestone in the work to build a more resilient semiconductor manufacturing supply chain in North America,” said Richard Cappetto, Senior Director of North American Relations at IPC. “Today’s action is a welcome milestone following years of education and advocacy work by IPC and our partners. It will help ensure that the United States can bridge current gaps in its semiconductor supply chain and position itself to be a leader in the global marketplace with the ability to manufacture cutting-edge technologies.”
Advanced packaging is driving semiconductor innovation by introducing greater electronic interconnection within semiconductor packages. Electronic interconnection is key to U.S. semiconductor leadership, and industry leaders call advanced packaging the “new king” of innovation in the chips sector.
The NOFO makes $300 million available for multiple awards of up to $100 million each for up to five years. Investments will be focused on projects that achieve ambitious targets for one or more of the program’s chief objectives:
- Accelerate domestic R&D and innovation in advanced packaging materials and substrates;
- Translate domestic materials and substrate innovation into U.S. manufacturing;
- Support the establishment of a robust, sustainable, domestic capacity for advanced packaging materials and substrate R&D, prototyping, commercialization, and manufacturing; and
- Promote a skilled and diverse pipeline of workers for a sustainable domestic advanced packaging industry.
IPC is the leading advocate for a “silicon-to-systems” approach to the CHIPS and Science Act, recognizing the importance of silicon fabrication but also the need for related electronics manufacturing capabilities—including advanced packaging, printed circuit boards (PCBs), and IC substrates.
IPC’s influential 2021 report, North American Advanced Packaging Ecosystem Gap Assessment, found the U.S. has only just begun to invest in advanced packaging, while nations in Asia have sprinted ahead to develop the lion’s share of capabilities and capacity. That report was referenced both in today’s NOFO and in the CHIPS Office’s guiding document for the National Advanced Packaging Manufacturing Program. An IPC Symposium on Advanced Packaging in 2022 also helped propel government action.
