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New York State has
been chosen as one of only two US regions in the country to receive funds to
establish an Institute for Nanoelectronics Discovery
and Exploration (INDEX) facility for advanced research into a wide range of
nanoelectronics. The new facility will be located at the Center of Excellence
in Nanoelectronics at the University at Albany. The second similar institute yet
to be formally announced will be located in the Silicon Valley in California.
The project will see the construction of a
new 250,000 square foot building that will house a new 100,000 square foot
cleanroom at an estimated cost of $275 million US dollars. $160 million of the
projects $435 million budget will be used for operating expenses. New York
State is committing $80 million in matching funds to help INDEX establish the
scientific, technical and manufacturing infrastructure, as well as training.
"More than ten states vied to land this new
center and it could have been located anywhere in America," stated Governor
George E. Pataki. "But the semiconductor industry recognized that here in New
York we have created a powerful nanoelectronics industry cluster that is on the
cutting edge of research and technology and is transforming the Capital Region
and the State into a worldwide powerhouse in high-tech research, job creation
and economic growth."
The existing Center of Excellence in
Nanoelectronics at the University at Albany has attracted over 100 industrial
partners, including IBM, Tokyo Electron, ASML, Infineon, Micron, and AMD, as
well as over $7 billion in industrial investment.
The College of Nanoscale Science and
Engineering at the University at Albany-SUNY
was financed through more than $500 million
in governmental support and over $2.5 billion in corporate investments.
The new investment
follows on from the announcement in December 2005 that the
US Department of Defense appropriation bill included funding for the Focus
Center Research Program (FCRP), a key program of the Semiconductor Industry
Association (SIA). The FCRP involves five Focus Centers and 33 universities
that work together on basic research in five critical areas: System Design,
Interconnects, Circuits, Devices, and Nanomaterials and Nanodevices. SIA
members fund the program at $20 million a year.
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