The Defense Advanced Research Project Agency will award the Texas Institute for Electronics at the University of Texas $840 million to build a Department of Defense microelectronics manufacturing center. DARPA announced Thursday that it selected the institute to develop the "next generation of high-performing semiconductor microsystems for the Department of Defense,” according to a UT press release.
Under the agreement, TIE, a UT-supported semiconductor consortium — will establish a national open access research and development and prototyping fabrication facility that will enable DOD to create "higher performance, lower power, light weight and compact defense systems.” according to the release. The technology "could apply to radar, satellite imaging, unmanned aerial vehicles or other systems,” it says.
Founded in 2021, the UT-supported TIE was established to create a nationally recognized center for excellence in 3DHI technology, pilot fabrication facilities, and semiconductor workforce development. The consortium of state and local government, semiconductor and defense electronics companies, national labs, and academic institutions has 84,000 square feet of state-of-the-art clean room space. Total investment in the project is $1.4 billion and incudes $552 million from the Texas Legislature. TIE has funded modernization of two UT fabrication facilities that will be open to industry, academic institutions, and government and will create dual-use innovations supporting the defense sector and the semiconductor industry, including startups.
“TIE is tapping into the semiconductor talent available in the Cockrell School of Engineering, in Texas and nationally to build an outstanding team of semiconductor technologists and executives that can create this national center of excellence in 3DHI microsystems,” said TIE founder S.V. Sreenivasan.
“With the support of our consortium partners, TIE’s product development infrastructure and services will enable a true open access facility where future microsystems can be developed for a wide range of customers and can be leveraged for other programs well into the future,” said TIE CEO John Schreck.
