The prototyping center could fill a real need. The prototyping fabs operated by the defense department are aging, and Sematech's fab here could be upgraded and adapted to defense needs. One source said that in recent years the defense department attempted to create a hybrid model, in which a private chip maker would build a new fab aimed at both commercial and defense needs, but that effort failed to get off the ground.

U.S. representatives John R. Carter, Lloyd Doggett, and Lamar Smith wrote the House Appropriations Committee Thursday (April 1) asking that the funds be included in the defense budget for fiscal 2005.

The AP2C would be an affiliate organization of International Sematech, which includes several semiconductor manufacturing companies that are based outside of the United States. Sematech was founded in 1987 in response to Japan's rise in the chip industry, and received some $900 million in total government funding over the next decade.

Then, the U.S. semiconductor-making members took Sematech private, giving up government during a period of revived competitive strength by the U.S. industry. Sematech became International Sematech, and the presence of non-U.S. members made it difficult for Washington to fund the Austin-based research consortium, even as its $170 million budget has been stretched thin by rising research costs. An affiliate limited to U.S. research organizations would be a step around that political barrier.

If federal funds start to flow they would complement some $40 million in Texas state appropriations already flowing. On Monday (March 29), Texas governor Rick Perry and other officials participated in a ceremony here at Sematech to kick off the Advanced Materials Research Center (AMRC). University researchers from several Texas schools will join with Sematech staffers in research aimed at semiconductors, nanotechnology, biotechnology, and related areas.

The AMRC funding comes from the Texas Enterprise Fund, established by the Texas legislature. The Texas state legislature, and the move by the Texas congressional delegation in Washington, are aimed partly to blunt an effort by the State of New York to establish Albany, N.Y. as a center of chip research. Sematech programs in mask blanks and resists for extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography were set up at the Albany Nanotech center.

A spokeswoman for Rep. Carter said the request for support for a prototyping center follows a delegation-wide letter sent last year that pledged support for Sematech, and which expressed commitment to increasing the level of advanced semiconductor research and manufacturing in Texas.

By: DocMemory
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