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Semiconductor leadership (from 45) institutions face an uphill battle as more
students abandon “hard tech” for fields
investments have boosted their domes- like computer science. Attracting more
tic microchip companies and even enticed students will require exciting hands-on lab
some U.S. firms to open fabrication facili- courses, inspiring research experiences,
ties overseas, del Alamo explains. well-crafted internships, and support from
industry mentors, as well as fellowships at
A chip manufacturing plant, also known as all levels, among many other initiatives.
a fab, might cost as much as $10 billion,
so companies make a big economic bet “We are already in a situa-
when they decide to build a new facility. tion where we are not pro-
ducing enough engineers at
Economic incentives all levels for the semicon-
Any economic incentives governments can ductor industry, and we are
provide, in the form of tax advantages, talking about a major ex-
cheap land, and even outright subsidies, pansion. So, it just doesn’t
play a role in a firm’s decision about where add up,” del Alamo (left)
to site a fab.
Future progress
A 2020 report from the Semiconductor “It is not just about making transistors
Industry Association asserts that, when smaller. Future progress requires new
economic incentives are taken into ac- materials, new processes, reimagined de-
count, manufacturers face a 30 percent vices, and novel integrated systems,” says
cost disadvantage when producing micro- Vladimir Bulović, the Fariborz Maseeh Pro-
chips in the U.S. versus Asia. fessor of Emerging Technology and found-
ing director of MIT.nano.
U.S. policymakers are working to close
that gap, in part, with the CHIPS Act, leg- “Technologies that we will rely on a decade
islation that would provide $52 billion in from now might look nothing like the ones
federal investments for domestic semicon- of today. Academic innovations are bound
ductor research, design, and manufactur- to disrupt the present technical roadmaps
ing. and leapfrog the performance of presently
imagined systems.
The FABS Act
Congress is also considering another piece Startups play a vital role
of legislation, the FABS Act, which would Startups also play a vital role in innova-
establish a semiconductor investment tax tion, and universities have long been a
credit. hotbed of entrepreneurial activity.
Reasserting leadership in semiconductor For this to continue, the authors argue
manufacturing will also require thousands that universities need strong partnerships
of new highly skilled workers, and univer- with prototyping facilities, national labs,
sities contribute a sizable fraction of the and commercial foundries to help enter-
workforce for the industry. prising researchers spin their innovations
out into tech startups that will become the
Expanding the size and diversity of this world-class corporations of the future.
workforce will be key, but educational mit.edu
