More chips, anyone? The US Department of Defense has earmarked billions of dollars for microelectronics R&D over the next several years, find partner Rutger Vrijen and colleagues. The budget for dual-use (commercial and defense) microelectronics technology research is set to jump from $531 million in 2022 to about $1.1 billion in 2023. To adapt to the government’s shifting priorities, semiconductor companies can consider investing in key areas such as trusted microelectronics and packaging and integration technology.
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A stacked, vertical bar chart shows two sets of data for each year from 2022 to 2027. The length of each bar corresponds to the US Department of Defense’s research, development, testing, and evaluation budget for microelectronics, in millions of dollars. The bottom section of each bar, which represents custom technology research (primarily defense applications), shows a moderate increase ranging from $864 million in 2022 to $940 million in 2024. The top section of each bar, which represents dual-use technology research (commercial and defense applications), is set to jump to about $1.1 billion in 2023, from $531 million in 2022. Across both uses cases, the budget is expected to remain elevated, though at a slightly reduced rate, through 2027.
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To read the article, see “Government CHIPS on the table: How higher DOD microelectronics funding is here to stay,” March 3, 2023.