|
U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer made the announcement Thursday.
The Albany NanoTech complex was selected by federal officials as
the national headquarters for research into a cutting-edge
semiconductor technology known as extreme ultraviolet, or EUV,
lithography. The lab will have the most advanced chip-making
machinery in the world and allow researchers from the
semiconductor industry to collaborate with their university
counterparts, according to Schumer, the Senate's Democratic
majority leader.
“When you do the high-end research, which will be done here, and
you can make the most advanced chips in the world, it makes sure
that our military has the edge," Schumer said in a telephone
interview. "It makes sure our economy and our companies have the
cutting edge, as well,”
The National Semiconductor Technology Center Extreme Ultraviolet
Accelerator is scheduled to begin operating next year. The
contract for it stems from the 2022 CHIPS and Science Act, which
was designed to create more high-tech jobs and help the United
States compete with international rivals like China. The Biden
administration has set a goal for the U.S. to make 20% of the
world’s advanced chips.
The Albany lab's selection also advances longstanding efforts by
Schumer and other government officials to make upstate New York
a global center of semiconductor research and manufacturing.
Gov. Kathy Hochul late last year announced a partnership with
the semiconductor industry to fund construction of the EUV
Center.
The Biden administration announced in February that the
government would provide $1.5 billion to the computer chip
company GlobalFoundries to expand its domestic production north
of Albany and in Vermont. And in April, the administration
announced an agreement to provide $6.1 billion in government
support for Micron Technology to produce advanced memory
computer chips near Syracuse, New York; and in Boise, Idaho.
“This is going to make upstate New York the center of
semiconductor research, not just for America, but for the
world,” Schumer said.
The Department of Commerce has not yet announced where the other
two national technology centers will be.
All contents © copyright 2024 Associated Press. All rights reserved
|
|
