Purdue will receive more than $5 million to research semiconductors with the goal of improve performance and energy efficiency. The grant, chosen for Purdue by various review panels and NSF, was announced in partnership with global semiconductor producers including Intel, Micron and Samsung, according to a Purdue news release.
The funding will support research in three different topic areas of semiconductor development.
“These grants will build on and expand the critical semiconductor research that Purdue is known for throughout the world,” Karen Plaut, executive vice president for research, told Purdue news.
“The grants support the goals of the 2022 CHIPS and Science Act to ensure long-term leadership in the microelectronics sector and nationwide economic growth,” the release said.
The first project aims to create new computing systems using indium oxide, a material that is only a few atom layers thick, which, according to the press release “mimics the way human brains process information, which could lead to smarter, faster and more energy-efficient AI systems,” the news release said. This project will be lead by a Haitong Li, assistant professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Peide Ye, the Richard J. and Mary Jo Schwartz professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Anand Raghunathan, Silicon Valley Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering.
The second aims to conduct high-resolution imaging of defects in semiconductors, with the aim to improve semiconductor quality, performance, and reliability, the news release said. This project will be lead by Nikhilesh Chawla, Ransburg Professor in Materials Engineering, with Charles Bouman, the Showalter Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Hany Abdel, professor of nuclear engineering, and Eshan Ganju postdoctoral researcher in materials engineering.
The third aims at improving the processing methods of ferroelectric oxiedes and aims to enhance the materia’s performance, creating more reliable and efficient electronics, according to the news release. This will be lead by Thomas Beechem, associate professor of mechanical engineering.
“These grants will build on and expand the crucial semiconductor research that Purdue is known for throughout the world,” said Karen Plaut, executive vice president for research.
