Boise State University has secured a nearly $8 million National Science Foundation (NSF) award to expand Idaho’s R&D in resilient microelectronics for extreme environments.
The XTREME project will bring together Boise State, the University of Idaho, three community colleges, Brigham Young University-Idaho (BYU-Idaho), Micron Technology, and Idaho National Laboratory (INL).
The programme will investigate how materials behave under high temperatures, radiation and mechanical stress.
The award is Idaho’s first NSF Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) E-RISE grant.
It will support a state-wide approach to research, workforce development and jurisdictional capacity in microelectronics, with applications relevant to energy, defence and aerospace.
Commenting on the funding, Boise State President David Hahn said: “Boise State University has been building toward this award for over a decade, working alongside industry and government partners to create a regional hub for microelectronics research and position Idaho to lead the nation in this critical growth area.
“These funds will create long-term research infrastructure, fuelling graduate education, that will lead to important discoveries related to materials used in our nation’s energy and defence systems. This is an important win for our university and our state.”
Researching microelectronics for extreme environments
XTREME, short for “Capacity Building for Resilient Microelectronics for Extreme Environments”, will focus on materials that can withstand demanding conditions.
Researchers aim to develop materials that could enable microelectronics and sensors to operate at temperatures above 1,000°C and in high-radiation environments. The research is intended to generate knowledge relevant to future energy and defence systems.
Boise State and the University of Idaho will lead the research effort, building on existing expertise in materials science and engineering. Boise State has also worked with INL for two decades on research, education and workforce development in microelectronics and related fields.
The project will involve the College of Western Idaho, College of Southern Idaho and College of Eastern Idaho, alongside BYU-Idaho, creating a statewide partnership spanning universities, community colleges, industry and national laboratory research.
Project builds on Idaho’s existing investment
The NSF award builds on existing investments in Idaho’s microelectronics research ecosystem.
Micron Technology’s $25bn investment in microelectronics fabrication in Boise is one part of that wider activity.
The company has also supported research at Idaho universities, including an endowment providing permanent funding for the University of Idaho’s Next Generation Microelectronics Research Center ((NGeM).
At Boise State, the Micron Center for Materials Research was established in 2015 following a $25m gift from the Micron Foundation. The university has also developed research capacity with INL and the Department of Energy (DOE) through its advanced sensors and instrumentation programme.
XTREME will build on these existing efforts while connecting NGeM with national research priorities.
Training the next generation of microelectronics experts
Education and workforce development are central to the project. Students at different levels will have opportunities for hands-on research experience, while the participating institutions will work together to develop skills relevant to microelectronics and related fields.
The project will also draw on an advisory board featuring representatives from NASA, the Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, DOE Nuclear Science User Facilities, industry, and R1 universities.
The combined research and education effort is intended to strengthen Idaho’s capacity in resilient microelectronics while advancing materials research for systems operating in extreme environments.
