Lab-to-fab Innovation Fast Track
Purpose
What experiment would you do if you had access to NORDTECH’s facility network?
Through the LIFT program, we’re excited to make our hub’s capability available to our members so they can test a good idea. This is not a grant opportunity; NORDTECH will facilitate access by running wafers, covering the cost of tool time or staff time, or subsidizing test/measurement services. Any headcount, supplies, or consumables would not be covered.
Formulate Your Idea
NORDTECH is looking for small experiments which would require less than one year’s time, or potentially a series of such experiments, that:
Utilize our facilities, especially ideas that require the use of multiple facilities
Align with the overall Commons mission of accelerating lab-to-fab technology transitions
Obtain proof-of-concept data that could help land larger grant funding
Can be executed and completed fast
Examples of the types of work that can be covered by this program:
Processing costs at nanofabs - NORDTECH can cover tool time costs, and/or staff time costs directly to our partner facilities. As a reminder, we are not covering consumables, substrates, or masks. Those items should be available or paid for directly by the applicant.
Utilization of test vehicles - IBM’s Microsystems Technology Lab and NY CREATES’ Albany NanoTech Complex have a variety of test vehicle mask sets that can be used for single level, short loop, or full flow builds, providing chips and/or wafers for downstream use or measurement.
Packaging and testing services - AIM Photonics TAP and IBM MRL have a variety of wafer and chip-level packaging services that can be covered. Or, if the proposal relies on metrology or characterization data, the cost for those measurements and analysis can be covered.
Submission, Review, and Selection
Submissions will take place through this web form starting on March 3.
A webinar was held on March 4 to review these instructions and answer any questions. Watch the recording here and download the slides here.
The first round of idea submission will close March 28.
Submissions will initially be reviewed, scored, and ranked by NORDTECH’s Technical and Defense Advisory Committees, in addition to volunteers from signed NORDTECH members. (Members can volunteer to review proposals here.)
The Facilities Advisory Committee will then review the highest-rated proposals for feasibility and cost. Depending on the scale and volume of feasible projects, NORDTECH aims to execute as many proposals as possible.
ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATIONS
Proposers who have a project selected are expected to already be, or to become, signed members of NORDTECH. The membership agreement and instructions to join can be found here.
In return for samples, chips, wafers, and/or data, selected projects are expected to provide a report on the experiment, results, and implications or future directions.
Projects that are not rated highly or those that were deemed unfeasible by the Facilities Advisory Committee will be provided feedback for potential resubmission for the next round.
Future rounds will depend on the size and volume of feasible proposals received, as well as the continued availability of funding.
