The CHIPS for America Act proposes to revive domestic chip-making, fund R&D, and secure technology supply chains.

CHIPS stands for “Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors.”

The Act proposes $12 billion to fund existing Pentagon semiconductor support programmes, plus $5 billion to other federal agencies for IC R&D.

$5 billion is intended to fund an IC packaging and assembly institute.

$500 million is to go to support a “domestic advanced microelectronics packaging ecosystem.”

Incentives for investing in domestic IC manufacturing, include a 40% investment tax credit good through 2024. The credit would be phased out in 2027.

A separate U.S. packaging effort in Florida involves DoD  Funding aimed at protecting the microelectronics supply chain.

A Florida non-profit called BRIDG recently received another $7.5 million contract from the Air Force Research Laboratory aimed at gathering data on chip design and manufacturing processes.

BRIDG is licensing technology from Imec to develop product design kits for silicon interposers.

Other BRIDG partners are Lockheed Martin, L3Harris, Tokyo Electron and the State of Florida.

“Central Florida is critical to America’s microelectronics manufacturing supply chain and its defense and aerospace customers,” says US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross.

“This bill reinvests in this national priority, providing targeted tax incentives for advanced manufacturing in the U.S., funding basic research in microelectronics and emphasizing the need for multilateral engagement with our allies in bringing greater transparency and attention to security and integrity threats to the global supply chain,” says the CHIPS Act’s  chief sponsor SenatorbMark Warner.

“The availability of robust incentives in other countries and the lack of a federal U.S. incentive have been key factors driving the location of semiconductor manufacturing facilities overseas,” says SEMI.

“As global competitors invest big to attract advanced semiconductor manufacturing to their shores, the U.S. must get in the game and make our country a more competitive place to produce this strategically important technology,”  says SIA CEO John Neuffer.