MILPITAS, Calif. – November 2, 2023 – The MEMS & Sensors Industry Group (MSIG), a SEMI Technology Community, today announced a Request for Proposals (RFP) for advanced technology development of positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) components and systems, including their manufacture. Review the full RFP for more information about the proposal submission process.

The MSIG PNT program, a public-private partnership between SEMI and the U.S. Army Research Laboratory, advances PNT solutions that pinpoint the position of mobile and stationary assets and enable their navigation under critically important situations.

When a GPS signal is lost, current solutions in the marketplace use inertial measurement units (IMUs) to maintain positioning accuracy. However, over time, accumulated errors make position determination unreliable.

SEMI MSIG anticipates announcing multiple awards to teams or U.S. organizations with a wide range of research and development capabilities. White paper proposals are due November 28, 2023, at 5:00pm PST.

The MSIG Technical Council has identified specific thrust areas for focus:

• Thrust Area 1: Novel Materials, Fabrication, Packaging, and Testing Techniques for Low-SWaP Inertial and PNT Sensors
• Thrust Area 2: Advanced Active and Passive Integrated Photonics for Low-SWaP Atomic Clocks, Quantum Systems, and PNT Sensors
• Thrust Area 3: Advancements Towards Low-SWaP-C, GPS-Free PNT Technologies

Subject matter experts from the SEMI MSIG Technical Advisory and Governing Councils and the U.S Department of Defense will evaluate, prioritize, review, and manage the proposals and their resulting projects. Funding granted by SEMI MSIG must be matched with funds in the form of cash and in-kind contributions from the grant recipient to cover total project costs. On average, the industry has covered nearly 60% of the funding for the previous PNT development projects.

“We invite proposals of leading-edge innovation,” said Tim Brosnihan, executive director of SEMI MSIG. “We look forward to proposals that push the state-of-the-art in MEMS devices and their manufacture.”

The intent of the R&D funding is to identify new PNT approaches and technologies for GPS-denied environments. Emphasis will be placed on system solutions, including but not limited to software, sensor fusion, cost-effective process innovation, advanced packaging solutions, component innovations, and disruptive materials development.

R&D funding may cover software, hardware, and advanced packaging requirements of optical and MEMS-based positioning and timing systems that improve bias stability and reduce sensor noise. Technical solutions will need to meet the system-level performance necessary to advance the state of the art.

SEMI MSIG will provide more details about the RFP during a webinar on November 14, 2023, 8:00-9:00am PST.

About SEMI
SEMI^® connects more than 3,000 member companies and 1.3 million professionals worldwide to advance the technology and business of electronics design and manufacturing. SEMI members are responsible for the innovations in materials, design, equipment, software, devices, and services that enable smarter, faster, more powerful, and more affordable electronic products. Electronic System Design Alliance (ESD Alliance), FlexTech, the Fab Owners Alliance (FOA), the MEMS & Sensors Industry Group (MSIG) and SOI Consortium are SEMI Strategic Technology Communities. Visit  www.semi.org, contact one of our worldwide offices, and connect with SEMI on  LinkedIn and X (formerly  Twitter) to learn more.

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