Multi-User Silicon Carbide Research and Fabrication Facility

(MUSiC)

In 2020-21, the Multi-User Silicon Carbide Research and Fabrication Facility received nearly $19 million from the National Science Foundation and $5.4 million from the Army Research Laboratory, most of which will be used to procure the needed equipment for this one-of-a-kind research, teaching and fabrication facility. The facility will enable the fabrication of circuits and devices on 6-inch semiconductor wafers for educational, commercial and military entities.

The U of A is the perfect choice to lead the effort in becoming the leader in commercializing silicon carbide semiconductors. It has built a program that includes four centers of excellence (GRAPES, POETS, SEEDS, CITES), 16 faculty across four departments, 110 graduate students, nine full-time staff (and growing), four NSF CAREER Award winners since 2018, three established facilities (NANO, HiDEC, NCREPT), hundreds of journal and conference papers and numerous awards to faculty, students and staff.

The fabrication facility will:

• Train students and produce the next generation of well-trained leaders in the semiconductor community.
• Attract excellent faculty to the U of A.
• Attract new industry to Arkansas.
• Produce new technology that becomes a source for start-up companies.
• Serve as a bridge between traditional university research and high-volume manufacturing of SiC circuits, thus filling a vital gap in U.S. semiconductor manufacturing for universities, national labs and businesses of all sizes that need low-volume prototyping.