President Barack Obama announced on Jan. 15 that N.C. State will lead a $140 million initiative aimed at bolstering the United States manufacturing sector through the development of Wide-Bandgap semiconductors. However, the grant will not be used to research new materials nearly as much as it will be used to help get existing technologies to industries, so they can be adopted and put into products, according to Dennis Kekas, interim executive director of the Next Generation Power Electronics Institute.
“This grant is much less about materials research, fundamental science and physics as it is about taking core technologies and creating a demand so that, when they are mass produced, the cost is driven down, which increases demand further,” Kekas said.
WGB Semiconductors are composed of materials, such as Galium Nitride, that help power electronic components to transfer and transform energy more reliably and efficiently than their less powerful silicon-based counterparts. They can be used for a long list of devices, including electric cars and wind-power generators.
Shifting to next-generation semiconductors could drive the manufacturing of electronics into a new era of improved performance, Kekas said. It’s because of this, as well as increased demand for renewable energy, that the U.S. government saw the need to invest in WBG semiconductor research and development.
“The whole idea is to make America more competitive in the manufacturing sector with what will become an apparent shift in a large portion of the electronics industry,” Kekas said.
According to Kekas, the federal government awarded the $140 million grant to N.C. State because of its reputation for research in this field, as well as a list of respected partners contributing to the project.
N.C. State partners with both large and small companies all across the country. Anywhere from a small company in New York that deals with physical design and layout, to a major fabrication facility in Texas, the careful selection of geographically dispersed partners made the University a prime candidate to lead the consortium, according to Terri Lomax, vice chancellor for Research, Innovation and Economic Development at N.C. State.
“I think what’s really key here is our ability to work with industry,” Lomax said. “Bringing together industry partners so that we understand what their issues are so that our students and our faculty can work on issues that are relevant to the needs of consumers.”
In time, the consortium will also bring about a new professional master’s degree program at N.C. State that will allow graduate students to obtain a specialized degree in the area of WBG semiconductors.
“These degrees tend to be tailored a little more towards a narrower segment of an industry to address the needs of the world,” Kekas said.
Lomax said the new program will be proposed soon, and then it will need to move through the approval process. It then must be approved by the Board of Trustees and then by the Board of Governors.
“It is probably going to be a couple of years before we would actually see that program being implemented,” Lomax said.
Lomax said that developing this technology in the U.S. would allow for more energy to be produced at home in a way that produces less waste than before.
“The technology is in your cell phone, electric cars, toasters, appliances, utility power plants and the list goes on,” Lomax said. “They are everywhere now controlling energy. So if the U.S. can manufacture semiconductors that are more efficient, we can increase our energy security.”
The grant requires that $54 million, about 50 percent of all corporate contributions, must come from private companies. North Carolina will provide about $10 million over five years, and N.C. State will provide $6 million. The Department of Energy will provide another $70 million, the largest federal research contract in University history.
Kekas said there is currently no plan to construct any new buildings on Centennial Campus because of the consortium. Instead, the university will utilize existing facilities.
