To drive U.S.-based innovation and support supercomputing capabilities, the Office of Science has established a microelectronics initiative. This initiative aims to explore new materials and fabrication methods, foster advanced computing architectures, and promote research and development for microelectronics essential to DOE missions of scientific discovery, energy efficiency, and national security.
Fremont, CA: Since the mid-20th century, microelectronic devices have undergone significant advancements, reducing in size and cost while improving performance and energy efficiency. However, they now face technical and economic challenges that demand innovation. For decades, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science and DOE national laboratories have collaborated with the industry to develop and demonstrate scientific breakthroughs in microelectronics.
The Office of Science operates scientific user facilities that rely on microelectronic devices, including particle detectors, microscopes, X-ray and neutron sources, data centers, networks, and high-performance computers. To drive U.S.-based innovation and support supercomputing capabilities, the Office of Science has established a microelectronics initiative. This initiative aims to explore new materials and fabrication methods, foster advanced computing architectures, and promote research and development for microelectronics essential to DOE missions of scientific discovery, energy efficiency, and national security.
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The challenge extends beyond transistor size. Most computer processors follow the 70-year-old von Neumann paradigm, characterized by a distinct processing unit coupled with a memory unit. This architecture necessitates data and instruction swapping during calculations, resulting in the von Neumann bottleneck, which consumes energy and generates heat. This bottleneck requires costly power and cooling infrastructures for supercomputing and data centers. Furthermore, memory access limitations hinder real-time scientific discoveries involving massive datasets.
The Office of Science is funding research to design materials that harness atomic and subatomic properties and develop new computing models such as neuromorphic and quantum computing. These models will benefit data-driven software programs in artificial intelligence and quantum information science. Additionally, microelectronics will play a critical role in modernizing the U.S. electricity grid, integrating renewable energy sources, enhancing cybersecurity, and optimizing energy usage. Future microelectronics will facilitate faster data collection and analysis for researchers, closer to experimental setups.
Achieving these goals requires a collaborative "co-design" approach involving materials and chemical scientists, mathematicians, computer engineers, and industry partners. This approach will enable the Office of Science to innovate more effectively and rapidly, bridging the gap between discovery sciences and technology implementation in both laboratories and the marketplace.
