WASHINGTON – The Department of Commerce’s CHIPS Research and Development Office, half of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), introduced in the present day the signing of a non-binding preliminary letter of intent (LOI) to supply as much as $150 million in proposed federal incentives underneath the CHIPS and Science Act to xLight, Inc. This could be the primary award NIST will make after assuming management of the National Semiconductor Technology Center within the Trump administration. This LOI demonstrates the Trump administration’s dedication to American management in vanguard semiconductor manufacturing by searching for to spend money on breakthrough expertise that can allow the subsequent technology of lithography.
The potential incentives could be for the development, construct out, and demonstration of a free-electron laser (FEL) prototype instead gentle supply for excessive ultraviolet (EUV) lithography. The Department of Commerce would obtain $150 million of fairness in xLight.
As the semiconductor trade pushes the boundaries of Moore’s Law, EUV lithography has emerged as a essential expertise to allow the high-volume manufacturing of microchip transistors past the 7nm node. However, the demand for extra highly effective and cost-effective means to fabricate vanguard semiconductors stays and FEL sources have the potential to allow vital advances in capabilities, productiveness, and prices of lithography at industrial fabs.
“For far too long, America ceded the frontier of advanced lithography to others. Under President Trump, those days are over. This partnership would back a technology that can fundamentally rewrite the limits of chipmaking. Best of all, we would be doing it here at home. xLight’s FEL platform represents the kind of breakthrough innovation that restores American leadership, secures our supply chains, and guarantees that the next generation of semiconductors is born in the United States. This is the CHIPS program at its best,” stated Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick.
From cyclotrons to synchrotrons, and now FELs, the previous century has seen the U.S. nationwide laboratories driving improvements in scientific analysis that foster technological breakthroughs that translate into U.S. nationwide safety. Decades of these sustained strategic investments have enabled the maturation of the specialised infrastructure and workforce wanted to design, construct, and repeatedly function these complicated techniques. This initiative would signify a commercialization of these investments into the semiconductor trade, demonstrating the ability of environment friendly collaboration throughout federal businesses in selling U.S. pursuits in a essential expertise space.
“Department of Commerce and other federal partner participation are committed to helping validate and rapidly accelerate the commercialization of this novel domestic light source for current and future state-of-the-art semiconductor lithography,” stated Deputy Secretary Paul Dabbar.
“The future of semiconductor manufacturing hinges on lithography, and we are grateful for the support of the Trump Administration, Secretary Lutnick, and Deputy Secretary Dabbar, and their vision to drive innovation and restore American leadership in advanced semiconductor manufacturing,” stated Nicholas Kelez, CEO and CTO of xLight. “With the support from Commerce, our investors, and development partners, xLight is building its first free-electron laser system at the Albany Nanotech Complex, where the world’s best lithography capabilities will enable the research and development that will define the future of chip manufacturing.”
xLight plans to make use of the prototype on the Albany Nanotech Complex, in partnership with non-profit NYCreates, starting in 2028. It will exhibit the expertise on present technology EUV lithography machines and leverage the prevailing sturdy ecosystem on the facility to pioneer lithography analysis at sub-EUV wavelengths that might show important for manufacturing next-generation high-performance semiconductor units.