The Ohio State University has expanded semiconductor processing, device prototyping and testing through its more than $20 million Microelectronics Innovation and Technology Cluster (MITEC). The university held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the expansion on Oct. 20. Its new capabilities are intended to help move emerging semiconductor technologies from university laboratories toward defense and commercial manufacturing, while supporting domestic workforce development and student training.
Operated by Ohio State’s Institute for Materials and Manufacturing Research (IMR), MITEC connects and enhances existing facilities. The expansion supports industry partnerships and national defense technology development through the Midwest Microelectronics Consortium (MMEC), a Department of War-designated regional innovation hub. Funding includes approximately $16 million secured through MMEC and a roughly $4.5 million collaborative infrastructure investment from Ohio State and the Ohio Department of Higher Education.
Equipment additions and facility upgrades are intended to help researchers and industry partners develop, evaluate and prepare semiconductor technologies for manufacturing. MITEC brings together resources at Nanotech West Lab and the Semiconductor Epitaxy and Analysis Laboratory for collaborative technology development and rapid prototyping. It supports semiconductor development using wafer sizes and processes compatible with industrial manufacturing beyond the expected scale of academic research, allowing materials and prototype devices to be developed closer to commercial production.
MITEC lead Steven Ringel said the new capabilities aim to support device development and prototyping for defense and commercial technology transitions with the consortium. John M. Horack, vice president for research at Ohio State, said, “It’s one thing to demonstrate something in a lab. It’s another thing to do it at scale.”
Workforce development initiatives are underway, with MMEC-sponsored fellowships giving undergraduate and graduate students hands-on research and prototyping experience in Nanotech West Lab’s cleanroom. Students work with wide bandgap semiconductors used in high-power and high-speed electronics, as well as narrow bandgap semiconductors required for infrared sensing, while receiving training from experienced staff.
