Learn about increased efforts to revive U.S. chip manufacturing
A recent article in EE|Times highlighted the debate that is heating up over how best to revive U.S. chip manufacturing.
As congressional conferees are meeting to consider specific levels and allocation of research funding, industry groups like the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) and the Information Technology & Innovation Foundation (ITIF) have redoubled their efforts to promote the CHIPS (Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors) Act, which earmarks billions of dollars in funding to revive domestic chip-making, fuel R&D, secure technology supply chains.
But some industry observers argue that the emphasis on manufacturing is misguided and money would be better spent funding research on next-generation chip technologies, rather than on subsidies for fabs.
While opinions on spending differ, the article titled “Fab Emphasis Questioned as U.S. Chip Lobby Sounds Off” lays bare a sobering fact: America’s lead in chip technology is eroding.
According to SIA, 70 commercial chip fabs currently operating in the U.S. account for an estimated 44.3 percent of domestic wafer capacity, and much of it classified as “front-end” chip manufacturing. Additionally, U.S.-based fabs produce only 12 percent of global chip output, versus 37 percent in 1990.
SIA argues that seeding additional semiconductor manufacturing facilities in the U.S. will help America stay at the forefront of advances that will pioneer the next generations of semiconductors.
For full details, click here to read the article.