News: Microelectronics
21 October 2024
Northeast Microelectronics Coalition Hub awards $1m to 13 companies
The Northeast Microelectronics Coalition (NEMC) Hub has announced $1,038,133 in grants to 13 companies through its Powering Regional Opportunities for Prototyping Microelectronics (PROPEL) manufacturing program, which was launched in June. Funded through the federal US CHIPS and Science Act, the program supports NEMC Hub members (particularly startups and small companies) and helps them to move microelectronics projects from early-stage concepts through to production of validated devices by offsetting costs associated with hardware lab-to-fab development.
Established in 2023 with funding from the US federal CHIPS and Science Act as one of eight regional Microelectronics Commons Hubs working to accelerate domestic semiconductor prototyping, the NEMC Hub is a network of 200+ organizations including commercial and defense companies, academic institutions, federally funded R&D centers (FFRDCs), and startups concentrated in eight Northeast US states. The NEMC Hub is a division of the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative and is executed through the Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane Division (NSWC Crane) and the National Security Technology Accelerator (NSTXL).
The PROPEL Manufacturing Program awards aim to reduce the burdens on time and capital investment of commercializing promising semiconductor technologies by reducing development costs and helping to fund the manufacturing, packaging and testing of advanced microelectronics.
“The NEMC Hub plays a critical role in accelerating the development of microelectronics and supporting advanced manufacturing companies in our region,” says Massachusetts Economic Development Secretary Yvonne Hao. “The PROPEL program will empower startups and small businesses to build a stronger semiconductor economy in the Northeast.”
Spanning a broad range of microelectronics applications including power electronics, AI hardware, quantum technology and wearable computing, the 13 awardees include:
- $100,000 for Finwave Semiconductor of Waltham, MA, which is developing innovative transistor designs and process technology based on gallium nitride on silicon (GaN-on-Si).
- $100,000 for Princeton Innotech Inc of Princeton, NJ, which is developing high-performance vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) for quantum computing.
“The 13 awardees represent important innovation for the future of microelectronics,” comments NEMC Hub director Mark Halfman.
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