After two years of legislative maneuvering, the U.S. Congress at last acted in late July to strengthen American technology supply chains with passage of the $280 billion Chips and Science Act.
A last-minute compromise preserved $52 billion in funding for semiconductor manufacturing and research. With President Biden expected to sign the landmark legislation in the coming days, the next hurdle is ensuring those investments yield chips at legacy and cutting-edge nodes along with advances in packaging and next-generation manufacturing tools.
Another key issue is assembling the skilled workforce of engineers and technicians needed to run up to 13 new U.S. fabs. Estimates of the number of fab personnel required run as high as 100,000.
Arijit Raychowdhury is on the frontlines of efforts to train the next generation of electrical and production engineers that will run new foundries. Among other topics, we discuss how to achieve the biggest bang for the CHIPS Act buck.
This week’s podcast is also part of a package of stories examining the challenges posed in constructing and operating planned U.S. semiconductor foundries.
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