MSTUDIO_FAQ_20240417.pdf

M‐STUDIO Frequently Asked Ques ons (FAQ)

1. Will slides or video be posted of the proposer’s day?

a. Video of the presenta ons can be found at:

h ps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UjOrrQv8YZs

2. Is there a minimum substrate size required by the program?

a. No minimum substrate size is defined as a metric in the Broad Agency Announcement

(BAA).

3. Are there any preferred approaches to achieving the program goals?

a. Any approach that can provide a credible pathway towards achieving the program metrics and goals will be considered viable. This includes recent published approaches or new innova ve ideas that can be substan ated by evidence and simula on.

4. Is it important for the approach to be complementary metal‐oxide semiconductor (CMOS) compa ble and/or u lize CMOS process flows?

a. Transi on of the M‐STUDIO technology is important, therefore CMOS integra on was men oned because it may have significant impact on the future microelectronics industry. However, any material system that would have high impact for DoD and industry will be considered.

5. Has guidance been posted on how much funding is available or how many teams will be selected for funding?

a. No an cipated funding level will be provided.

6. Do you expect large industrial fabs including interna onal fabs to propose?

a. The M‐STUDIO program is open to any proposal from any en ty that can comply with the eligibility sec on of the BAA, to include non‐U.S. en es that are able to comply with export control regula ons.

7. Are there any guidelines related to the 10‐layer Phase 2 metrics? More specifically, are there a required number of dis nct materials, or do all 10 layers need to be high electron mobility?

a. There are no restric ons on the total number of dis nct materials as long as each material reaches 95% of the SOA for each layer mobility. A two‐material system (ABAB) is acceptable as long as it reaches the criteria specified in the BAA.

8. Is it acceptable to create a 10‐layer lateral stack, mee ng the program dimensions and requirements?

a. No, it is expected that the 10 layers must be stacked ver cally.

9. Will you accept submissions to the first phase only?

a. No. proposals must address both phases to be considered compliant with the BAA requirements and reviewed.

10. What are the types of acceptable devices and measurements in each phase?

a. These measurements and devices are defined by the proposer to demonstrate measured results mee ng the program metrics. In addi on, the proposer should discuss why their chosen devices and results are sufficient to demonstrate the achieved mobili es are > 95% of SOA.

11. Is there a way to receive no fica ons of amendments to the BAA or a achments?

a. Yes, please use the below link to the descrip on of the “follow” func on in SAM.gov h ps://www.fsd.gov/gsafsd_sp?id=kb_ar cle&sys_id=25b15b7a87d37990f20c63180cbb3524

12. Please further explain this statement from the BAA: “precision material transfer techniques have been demonstrated, which require a base layer thicker than a few microns to provide adequate mechanical support. Due to their size and thickness, such techniques are not compa ble with nano‐dimension device level monolithic integra on."

a. All novel material synthesis techniques compa ble with leading edge and future advanced node semiconductor manufacturing processes that can result in achieving M‐

STUDIO goals will be considered.

13. Is special permission required to add a non‐US organiza on or university to a proposal?

a. No, special permission is not required to include a non‐US university.

Please see Sec on IV: Special Considera ons, bullet 2 on Page 9 of the BAA.

14. Would an approach that leverages an ini al seed/pseudo‐substrate count toward the film thickness metric?

a. M‐studio seeks la ce mismatched semiconductor material synthesis on silicon substrates with a 1 nanometer or less buffer layer or no buffer layer. In this case the seed layer/pseudo substrate would count towards this thickness.