Northeast Regional Defense Technology Hub (NORDTECH), a regional consortium of government labs, defense companies, academic institutions, and technology manufacturing organizations in New York State and one of eight hubs composing the U.S. Microelectronics Commons program, announced that four innovative projects have been selected by the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) to receive significant federal funding. These projects are set to receive a total of more than $30 million in the technical areas of quantum and commercial leap ahead technologies. The dedicated work on these advanced projects is already underway.
NORDTECH’s five founding members, who comprise the hub’s leadership team and governance committee, include the New York Center for Research, Economic Advancement, Technology, Engineering, and Science (NY CREATES), the University at Albany College of Nanotechnology, Science, and Engineering (CNSE), Cornell University, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), and IBM.
“This significant investment for NORDTECH will provide a major boost to our economy and further establish New York as a global leader in technology,” New York State Governor Kathy Hochul said. “I want to thank the Biden-Harris administration, Majority Leader Schumer, and all of our federal partners who passed the CHIPS and Science Act, which has helped build the next generation of semiconductor and microelectronic research, manufacturing, and job training right here in New York.”
Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer said, “Upstate NY is leading the future of innovation for America’s national security in the chip industry. Upstate NY’s top research institutions from Cornell and RIT to NY CREATES and more are now partnering with the Department of Defense to make the technology that will drive this industry for the next century. This significant $27+ million puts Upstate NY in the driver’s seat for the discoveries that the chip and defense industry say will be pivotal to the future of this technology. I crafted my CHIPS & Science Law with Upstate NY as my north star, because I knew that with targeted federal investments communities across New York could bring this industry back from overseas to America. Now from the Capital Region to Central NY to Western NY that is happening and this major award from the Department of Defense will help us seize this once-in-a-generation opportunity to drive new innovation and to train our workers to make sure major breakthroughs for the future of this technology are discovered and made here in the Empire State.”
“NORDTECH is honored to have our projects selected by the Department of Defense to accelerate the maturation of novel microelectronics technologies,” said NORDTECH Technical Director, Dr. Nicholas Fahrenkopf. “These newly funded research collaborations consisting of more than 20 different government and academic experts underscore our collective strength and dedication to meeting the Department of Defense’s needs with high-end technological solutions.”
These funded projects include:
- Expected Funding: $8,906,000
Project Title: Superconducting Quantum Error Correction Qubit
Lead Research Institution: NY CREATES
Research Institutions: Cornell University, Princeton, Syracuse University, New York University, QCI, Seeqc, Cadence, and the Air Force Research Lab -Information Directorate
Topic Area: Quantum
Summary: NY CREATES and partners in academia, industry, and government will co-develop technologies necessary to demonstrate scalable quantum error correction, using new materials, innovative quantum circuits and qubit control schemes. Innovative processes that expand the limits of qubit performance will be explored at the academic labs, with a view to hasten the lab-to-fab transition. The Cornell Nanofabrication Facility will offer vetted processes on dedicated 100mm tools that can be utilized by researchers. The team will deliver a superconducting process design kit (PDK), leveraging the tightly controlled fabrication processes at the 300mm wafer scale. This project will democratize access to scalable, high performance qubit fabrication, enabling faster innovation by the broader community.
“We are grateful that the Department of Defense has recognized the groundbreaking potential of this project, and the excellence of the team that will deliver the results. This selection for a federal award is a testament to the cutting-edge research at NY CREATES toward creating scalable quantum technologies, and the leadership of the team members in the many aspects of qubit design and fabrication. We are excited to start executing on this important effort, to pave the way for significant advancements in quantum technologies by a vibrant and growing quantum community,” said NY CREATES’ Vice President of Research, Dr. Satyavolu Papa Rao. “We are committed to the hard work required to make a lasting impact that will enhance national security and drive improvements in the field of quantum computing.
- Expected Funding: $8,564,000
Project Title: Quantum Ultra-broadband Photonic Integrated Circuits and Systems (QUPICS)
Lead Research Institutions: AIM Photonics and Cornell University
Research Institutions: RIT, Columbia, Yale, AFRL, NIST, Quantinuum, Xanadu, Toptica USA
Topic Area: Quantum
Summary: The QUPICS team, led by the American Institute for Manufacturing Integrated Photonics (AIM Photonics) and Cornell University, will develop a novel 300mm foundry fabrication platform for quantum technologies which will span the ultraviolet to the infrared. QUPICS will specially address the foundry gap for trapped ion, neutral atom, and photonic quantum technologies incorporating broadband photonics, electro-optic devices, multi-metal layer electrical functionality, and lasers into a single broadly available technology offering. QUPICS will develop and incorporate passive photonics, active components, and laser sources from the ultraviolet to the infrared geared to the use of quantum technologies. Integrated systems spanning this broad wavelength range are critical for a variety of photonics-heavy quantum systems for commercial and DoD priority applications in quantum sensing, networking, computation, and position navigation and timing (PNT). In later years QUPICS will open to multi-project wafer (MPW) runs and will be actively searching for partners from government laboratories, academia, and businesses.
“AIM Photonics’ proposal is in response to the DoD’s growing interest in quantum photonic technologies as specified in the Microelectronics Commons project calls. Quantum Ultra-broadband Photonic Integrated Circuits and Systems (QUPICS) offers a quantum photonic platform that would give capability for commercial and DoD applications that could significantly enhance the types of chip-scale quantum optoelectronic systems working in the visible, near infrared, and infrared. QUPICS will enable the integration of key technologies, which will be a game changer for trapped ion, neutral atom, and photonic quantum technologies,” said Dr. Lewis Carpenter, Photonics Development Manager at AIM Photonics, who worked on the proposal.
- Expected Funding: $8,454,000
Project Title: Nitride RF Next-Generation Technology (NITRIDER)
Lead Research Institution: Cornell University
Topic Area: Commercial Leap Ahead
Research Institutions: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, U.S. Naval Research, Laboratory, Northrup Grumman, Soctera, Inc., Teledyne Scientific & Imaging LLC, Crystal IS Inc., and Qorvo Texas, LLC
Summary: High-speed gallium nitride (GaN) high-electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) have revolutionized defense radar and communication systems, despite delivering only 1/10th of the radio frequency (RF) output power for which this semiconductor family is capable. In this project Cornell University and its team will unleash the dormant 90% output power using novel and patented nitride HEMTs and aluminum nitride (AlN) substrates. While taking these two next-generation nitride RF transistor technologies from lab-to-fab, the NITRIDER program will employ specially constructed workforce development modules to develop large signal models, new processes, and research design kits (RDKs) for E-Band and C-Band (radio frequencies from 60GHz-90GHz and 2.4GHz-5GHz, respectively) MMICs, or monolithic microwave integrated circuits which perform functions such as power amplification, to improve radar and communication systems.
“This first round of the Microelectronics Commons’ technical research projects selected by the Department of Defense through NORDTECH marks the beginning of a new opportunity to move great new ideas more nimbly from lab to fab to prototype,” said Dr. Krystyn Van Vliet, Cornell’s Vice President for Research and Innovation. “Out of many compelling proposals to move great ideas in microelectronics materials and devices from lab to fab, these teams including several co-led or partnered with Cornell researchers were selected to sprint and pressure test this national experiment to accelerate and stabilize microelectronics manufacturing innovation in the US. These new project teams of industry, academia, and federal labs — will also have access to equipment in expertly staffed facilities like those at Cornell that are part of NORDTECH’s ecosystem. I am looking forward to all that Cornell researchers and their project partners across NY and the US will contribute to NORDTECH and the Microelectronics Commons. Projects like the one co-led by Cornell’s Dr. Karan Mehta to advance quantum technology, and the one led by Cornell’s Dr. Debdeep Jena on materials-enabled advances key to powering electronics can show the power of diverse research teams in action. Not only will these project teams aim to demonstrate leap-aheads on technical challenges in microelectronics materials and devices using the NORDTECH ecosystem, these project teams will also foster the next generation of ambitious, creative US talent pipeline that better connect the dots between lab to fab, between discovery and utility, and between societal need to societal benefit.”
- Expected Funding: $3,970,000
Project Title: Heterogeneous Quantum Networking
Lead Research Institution: Rochester Institute of Technology
Research Institutions: Air Force Research Lab – Information Directorate, Yale University, Duke University, AIM Photonics, and NY CREATES
Topic Area: Quantum
Summary: The Rochester Institute of Technology, AFRL, and partners plan to realize a heterogeneous quantum network (HQN) that connects ion-based qubits with superconducting and photonic-based qubits using high speed photonics chips. Qubits are quantum bits which utilize the novel properties of quantum mechanics (superposition and entanglement) to fundamentally enhance communication, computing and sensing systems. However, quantum systems that are homogeneous suffer from tradeoffs; by realizing a network of non-identical qubit types, it will be possible to realize quantum systems that overcome these tradeoffs. Specifically, with a heterogeneous network, different qubit types can be used for different applications (storage, sensing, and/or processing) while still being interconnected. Such a network would advance the warfighter’s access to position, navigation, timing, communications, and computational information.
“RIT takes great pride in being at the forefront of microelectronics and information science since their inception,” said Dr. Ryne Raffaelle, vice president of research and associate provost at RIT. “Working with our partners in the DoD Microelectronic Commons NORDTECH Hub and the Air Force Research Lab on future quantum networks ensures that we will continue to play an important role in these areas and the future of our nation’s industrial base in these critical technologies. I am tremendously excited about using our, and the other chip fabrication infrastructure in our region and state, to help realize the promise of quantum tech and increase U.S. competitiveness and economic impact for our nation.”
For more information about the projects, the funding, or NORDTECH, please visit: www.nordtechub.org