Microelectronics is now at a crossroads. The size of the basic building block, transistors, is approaching that of atoms, and the laws of quantum mechanics are coming into effect. For continued exponential growth, we must now look for solutions other than the miniaturization of the transistor. We must also look for solutions beyond the classical computer architecture of a processing unit combined with memory.

Microelectronics at Argonne links fundamental science with manufacturing science, guided by our capabilities in computing, materials characterization, distributed sensor platforms, and non-destructive nanoscale chip imaging. Our mission is to make significant contributions to overcoming the supply chain, energy, and environmental challenges associated with microelectronics. To do this, we are building on our current expertise, which spans the co-design framework, starting with new materials, chemistries, and phenomena and continuing through devices, higher-level micro-electronics systems, algorithms, and programming paradigms to applications. Our success will help revitalize the U.S. microelectronics industry and reduce dependence on overseas supply chains.

Microelectronics at Argonne has two elements:

• Innovation in energy-efficient microelectronics and architectures with reduced use of critical materials
• New approaches to energy-efficient and environment-friendly manufacturing for microelectronics

Our research in innovative microelectronics and architectures will focus on scientific approaches to edge computing systems that are of interest as emergent and sustainable technologies and on energy-efficient architectures based on novel phenomena, for example, for neuromorphic computing. We will build on current research at Argonne’s Advanced Photon Source to contribute to advances in cybersecurity and in trustworthy microelectronics and architectures. We will use AI for autonomous discovery to characterize materials and microelectronics behavior and to develop algorithms that can drive discovery lower down the co-design framework. We will use the Advanced Photon Source and the Center for Nanoscale Materials at Argonne for synthesis, patterning, and advanced characterization. The Argonne Leadership Computing Facility will be critical not only for analyzing experimental data but also determining how much energy a novel microelectronic system uses to do a single AI compute, a determination that is a leadership-computing class problem.

To create new manufacturing approaches, we will work toward novel 3D integration of dissimilar materials with a focus on understanding electron and thermal transport across interfaces. We will leverage our capabilities for printing flexible electronics at the Materials Engineering Research Facility at Argonne to explore novel inks and new approaches to distributed manufacturing. Our supply-chain modeling will inform our exploration of alternative approaches to avoid critical materials for microelectronic components, and we will use our expertise in AI approaches to create digital twins that can guide efficient manufacturing processes.

We will pursue this research in collaboration with regional partners, with a focus on workforce development and the long-term goal of establishing a Midwest center for energy-efficient microelectronics research that will bring together national laboratories, universities, and industry. Its focus will be on automotive applications because of the strong automotive industry in the Midwest.