Semiconductor Research Corporation

Semiconductor Research Corporation (SRC) is a technology research consortium. A non-profit founded in 1982 and based in North Carolina, USA,

SRC comprises a few programs:

• Global Research Collaboration (GRC) drives near-term materials, interconnect, devices, design, and tools progress.
• Focus Center Research Programs (FCRP) supports future generations of IC requirements.
• Nanoelectronics Research Initiative (NRI) is responsible for determining the post-CMOS information element by 2020.
• Energy Research Initiative (ERI) supports research in photovoltaics, smart grid, electrical energy storage and power management.
• SRC Education Alliance (SRCEA) is a private foundation supporting science and engineering students and encouraging them to pursue careers in the semiconductor industry.
• Semiconductor Technology Advanced Research Network (STARnet) is a collaborative of universities providing exploratory research on semiconductor, system and design technology for the U.S. microelectronics and defense industries.

SRC Education Alliance

A private foundation,^[1] the SRC Education Alliance (SRCEA) supports science and engineering students at various levels of education, encouraging them to pursue careers as innovators and technology leaders. SRCEA is a branch of the Semiconductor Research Corporation.^[2] The foundation develops sources of funding to provide undergraduate and graduate science and engineering students with educational opportunities consisting of traditional coursework, cutting-edge research, and direct interaction with the semiconductor industry.^[3][4]

Each year, 1,500 students are supported by SRC and SRCEA through research contracts and grants, fellowships and scholarships, and the foundation’s Undergraduate Research Opportunities (URO) program. The organization offers financial support, mentoring, and industry-relevant research with SRC-funded faculty who are recognized experts in their fields.^[5] SRCEA attracts students with an interest in the semiconductor research field and helps them forge their pathway to become technology leaders and drive tomorrow's innovations.

Since SRC’s inception in 1982, more than 8,000 students have contributed to significant research and published thousands of technical papers.^[6][7] Alumni of the program have become industry leaders and renowned faculty researchers.

The unique synergy of these student programs allows technologically educated individuals to make substantial headwind in areas that are important to the economy and industry, as well as to national security^[8] and quality of life, through their research.

Grants from industry organizations, like the 2011 Intel Foundation gift of $1.4 million,^[9] are distributed through the URO to support student research. Undergraduate students enjoy access to funding for their research plus access to SRC member experts bolstering their research capabilities. SRC facilitates their resume distribution for internships and hiring opportunities through its network of industry contacts. Numerous scholarships are available for students in a variety of fields and include study abroad opportunities.^[10]

Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (URO)

SRC’s URO Program, funded by SRCEA, is another opportunity for sponsorship, often with an emphasis on students from underrepresented groups.^[11][12] Students participate and receive hands-on research experiences and mentoring; guidance and support in applying to graduate school; and opportunities for internships at national corporations.^[13][14]

The URO program supports nearly 230 students annually and is in place at 14 universities, including Carnegie Mellon University, Cornell University, Georgia Institute of Technology, Howard University, Purdue University, the University of California at Berkeley, and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, among others.

URO offers an opportunity for connectivity between a diverse range of undergraduate students and relevant research projects in engineering and physical sciences. This expanded network of connections often influences their undergraduate career and provides ongoing opportunities for post-graduation employment.

GRC Graduate Fellowship Program

The Graduate Fellowship Program (GFP), funded through SRCEA, addresses the issues of improving educational opportunities at the doctoral level and supplying a relevantly educated workforce for the semiconductor industry.^[15] The objectives of the program are to encourage academically gifted U.S./permanent resident students to pursue doctoral degrees in research areas consistent with SRC program goals, and to develop a cadre of the highest quality doctoral graduates for member companies and U.S. universities.

The GFP was created in 1986 to attract exceptionally talented students with U.S. citizenship to academic areas of interest to SRC members. The program has since been opened to students holding permanent resident, refugee, or political asylum status in the U.S.

While program fellows are not required to take employment within the SRC community upon graduation, they are strongly encouraged to do so, and assistance is provided in finding appropriate employment in an SRC member company, U.S. government agency, or U.S. university. Graduating fellows entering member companies facilitate the transfer of new science and technology from the participating universities to the supporting organizations. Fellows joining faculties at universities worldwide carry with them the expertise to stimulate new research activities and to encourage additional student interest in semiconductor-related fields.

Funding

Private giving is an important source of funding that allows SRC Education Alliance to develop fellowship and scholarship programs that attract and educate students aspiring to become scientists and engineers.

SRC Supported Research

Various university-based research projects are supported by the SRC. These studies, conducted by SRC faculty mentors and student scholars, provide new advancement to the semiconductor industry. The following are examples of relevant industry research supported by the SRC:

• Georgia Institute of Technology scholars invented a platform for modeling spintronics devices.^[16]
• University of California, Davis researchers explored new materials and structures for memory technologies similar to racetrack memory.^[17]
• University of California, Santa Barbara created high-performing III-V metal-oxide semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFET).^[18]
• Purdue University, SEMATECH and SUNY College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering conducted research on high-performance molybdenum disulfide field-effect transistors.^[19]

T3S Program

SRC’s Trustworthy and Secure Semiconductors and Systems (T3S) program is a research effort aimed at developing cost-effective strategies and tools to design and manufacture chips and systems that are reliable, trustworthy, secure and resistant to attack, tampering or counterfeiting. In other words, they want to provide assurance that hardware systems do what they are intended to and nothing else. In 2014, $4 million in projects were announced for 10 universities.^[20] Also in 2014, Qualcomm joined the initiative to assist with the T3S program. According to an article about the initiative, the addition of Qualcomm “substantially increases the impact of the T3S investment and enhances the value of the federal program by utilizing funding and connecting industry and academia.”^[21]

Global Operations

SRC has had over 100 projects in 26 different countries outside of the United States since 2000. Most recently, SRC has collaborated with Malaysia’s research and development centre to boost the country’s semiconductor industry research. Previous collaboration between local universities and the semiconductor and electronic industry in the country has not been productive, so SRC is providing expertise to help the industry grow. SRC officials traveled to Malaysia in 2014 to meet the global and domestic semiconductor industry players with operations there.^[22]

References

External links

• Semiconductor Research Corporation website