Project Grant 0945432

This SBIR Phase I award from the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships (TIP) program, with a total funding amount of $274,985, is focused on developing an artificial intelligence (AI) system to accelerate semiconductor production using physics-embedded lithographic foundation models. The project aims to alleviate design and manufacturing complexities associated with the shift to extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography in semiconductor manufacturing, which has...

This Project Grant from the National Science Foundation's Division of Civil, Mechanical, and Manufacturing Innovation provides $779,240 to support research at the University of Notre Dame advancing lithography-free manufacturing techniques for metal nanostructures separated by nanogaps. Specifically, the award funds work through August 2025 to define benchtop fabrication methods for integrating opposing metal surfaces separated by sub-5 nm nanogaps into applications in plasmonics and molecular...

This Project Grant from the National Science Foundation's $470,298 Engineering program (CFDA 47.041) supports research at the University of California, Davis to develop scalable nanomanufacturing processes for organic electronics using laser patterning in a continuous solvent flow liquid cell. The research aims to modify existing photolithography tools and methods to enable optical micropatterning of organic semiconducting polymers into electronic circuits. This will allow for micro and...

This Cooperative Agreement award from the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships (TIP) program (CFDA 47.084) provides $1,000,000 to Iris Light Technologies Inc., a small business in Chicago, Illinois, to develop foundry-scale production of on-chip silicon photonic light emitters enabled by printed photonic ink. The project aims to create black phosphorus-based inks that can be integrated directly onto silicon photonic chips to produce on-chip lasers. This...

This National Science Foundation (NSF) Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships (CFDA 47.084) Phase I Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant of $275,000 awarded to Lumoniq Inc. supports research and development of a nanoscale hybrid optical interconnect platform to revolutionize internal computer chip connections. The project aims to commercialize a new approach called Coupled Hybrid Plasmonics (CHP) that uses the interaction of light and metals to enable high-bandwidth, low-power,...

This Project Grant award from the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Engineering program (CFDA 47.041) provides $200,000 in funding over a two-year period from June 1, 2025 to May 31, 2027. The award aims to advance the field of semiconductor manufacturing by addressing critical challenges in extreme ultraviolet (EUV) photolithography, a technology essential for creating the next generation of integrated circuits with features smaller than 10 nanometers. The project will focus on the...

This $305,000 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project, awarded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) under the Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships (CFDA 47.084) program, aims to develop a novel, non-destructive, in-line inspection technology to improve the quality and efficiency of semiconductor manufacturing. The project focuses on building and testing an advanced inspection tool that leverages quantum sensing techniques to quickly and accurately identify hidden...

This Project Grant award from the National Science Foundation (NSF) under the Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships (TIP) program (CFDA 47.084) provides $305,000 to Stellar Engiine, a small business located in Los Altos, CA, to advance plasma-enhanced atomic layer deposition (PEALD) technology for semiconductor manufacturing. The key objectives are to: 1) Characterize an array of micro-plasma dielectric barrier discharge applicators powered by nanosecond-scale high voltage pulses to...

This National Science Foundation (NSF) Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I Project Grant award to La Luce Cristallina, Inc. provides $274,997 to address critical technical challenges in scaling up barium titanate on silicon technology for photonic integrated circuits. The key products and services to be delivered under this 1-year project include: Developing a process to mitigate the thermal stress that arises from integrating barium titanate, an optical material, with silicon...

Iris Light Technologies Inc. received a $256,000 Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I Project Grant from the National Science Foundation on December 1, 2021 to support research and development efforts concluding on November 30, 2022. Funded through the NSF's Engineering program (CFDA #47.041), the award aims to advance electro-luminescence and doping of black phosphorus for printed lasers on silicon photonic chips. The Engineering program seeks to improve quality of life and...