
To restore American leadership in semiconductor manufacturing - blopeur
https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/7178?s=1&r=1
======
SkyMarshal
American Institute of Physics Summary:

[https://www.aip.org/fyi/federal-science-bill-
tracker/116th/c...](https://www.aip.org/fyi/federal-science-bill-
tracker/116th/creating-helpful-incentives-produce-semiconductors-chips)

\- Authorizes funding for semiconductor R&D, including $3 billion for the
National Science Foundation, $2 billion for the Department of Energy, and $2
billion for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s Electronics
Resurgence Initiative

\- Creates a multi-agency National Semiconductor Technology Center that would
conduct research and prototyping of advanced semiconductors in partnership
with the private sector, with a recommended budget of $3 billion over ten
years

\- Establishes an Advanced Packaging National Manufacturing Institute under
the Department of Commerce with a recommended budget of $5 billion over five
years and creates a semiconductor program at National Institute of Standards
and Technology that would support a new Manufacturing USA institute

\- Creates a $10 billion trust fund to match state and local incentives for
investments in semiconductor manufacturing facilities

\- Provides tax credits for qualified semiconductor equipment or manufacturing
facility expenditures through 2027

~~~
georgeburdell
Thanks for the summary. I was not able to see any additional text in the house
bill so I was confused what to glean.

300M/year is not going to dig us out of this hole. Intel's R&D budget is 10
times that per quarter [1], and that apparently doesn't even get you #1 in
process leadership. In my opinion, the real problem is that semiconductors is
no longer an attractive field for the best and brightest Americans. They
realized they can go into software engineering and, as a new grad, make more
as a BS than a semiconductor PhD. Unfortunately, national security doesn't
dictate market wages, so I expect the U.S. to fall further behind unless they
find a way to lower software wages, which perhaps ironically they're doing the
opposite of with the H1B freeze.

[1] [https://www.intc.com/investor-relations/investor-
education-a...](https://www.intc.com/investor-relations/investor-education-
and-news/investor-news/press-release-details/2020/Intel-Reports-Fourth-
Quarter-2019-Financial-Results/default.aspx)

~~~
jimbob45
From Wikipedia: Fabs require many expensive devices to function. Estimates put
the cost of building a new fab over one billion U.S. dollars with values as
high as $3–4 billion not being uncommon. TSMC invested $9.3 billion in its
Fab15 300 mm wafer manufacturing facility in Taiwan.[1] The same company
estimations suggest that their future fab might cost $20 billion.[2]

So the _total_ amount of this bill would be enough to build a new fab (in
theory, _not_ in practice). Still, I think you're right that, short of
nationalizing US fabs and building a new one outright, this isn't going to
bring the US back on par with other countries.

------
yazaddaruvala
It'll be interesting to watch as congress balances vertical integration
concerns with increased need for high-tech (like semiconductor) manufacturing.

Companies like AAPL and AMZN have shown multiple times, they are willing to
invest past the barriers to entry to improve vertical integration, reduce
their bottom line, but also give back some of those wins to their customers.
Both of these companies are leaders in custom silicon, and it is only a matter
of time before they prioritize the move into silicon fabrication as well.

Best case would be if, once mature, these companies would spin out
subsidiaries which design generalized chips and fab chips for the entire
industry. But if there is a push for regulation to have less vertical
integration because of the enormous competitive advantages, its not clear
where that line should be drawn for creating subsidiaries. It'll be
interesting to know if their decisions to invest into things like
semiconductor manufacturing will be impacted by regulation and which is the
less bad choice accounting for the economy and national defense.

------
rdlecler1
We have intel and amd here already. It’s not clear that R&D is the issue, it’s
cost of manufacturing. This seems to be better solved with some kind of
critical industry tax incentives.

~~~
rudolph9
Does AMD manufacture here?

~~~
ihattendorf
TSMC makes AMD chips. TSMC recently announced plans to open a plant in
Arizona, although I don't believe they've announced what chips will be made
there.

~~~
basch
doesnt GlobalFoundries as well (the spinoff of AMDs fab along with some
acquisitions.)

[https://www.anandtech.com/show/13915/amd-amends-agreement-
wi...](https://www.anandtech.com/show/13915/amd-amends-agreement-with-
globalfoudries-set-to-buy-wafers-till-2021)

~~~
ihattendorf
You're right, I was thinking of 7nm. They still have agreements with GF for
12nm+.

------
phkahler
Besides Intel (who doesnt need a subsidy IMHO) who even makes chips on
advanced nodes in the US any more?

~~~
brennanpeterson
Samsung Austin, Intel (NM, OR, AZ), GF, Micron and then it depends.in what is
added. Cree, arguably.

The better question: who is building a next Fab. Samsung will expand Intel
could TSMC will

Someone, somewhere, will restart Sematech as a research facility. I would bet
on either Austin or Ann Arbor.

------
swiley
Meh. This is treating a symptom. Semiconductor manufacturing moves very slowly
and it just took it a while to live the US like everyone else did.

------
insaneisnotfree
In my country this would never happen

------
groby_b
Well, aren't you glad we just made it untenable for a large number of experts
on the subject to work here?

~~~
nine_zeros
> Well, aren't you glad we just made it untenable for a large number of
> experts on the subject to work here?

Even if they lift the ban, its not like these experts will immediately abandon
their families and jobs to jump into the uncertain administrative environment
of the US.

Why would they come if their lives can be upended by the stroke of a pen?

------
sand_castles
When was the last time a political decree lead to change in who gets to be
leader in what ?

The modern Chinese supply chain can only be replicated in few other places in
the world.

I don't see what the problem is to let China do what it does, and focus
everybody else's goal on other more important things - like reducing global
C02 emissions.

You could generate millions of jobs just by doing that.

~~~
throwawaygh
_> When was the last time a political decree lead to change in who gets to be
leader in what ?_

The creation of the National Science Foundation, National Institutes of
Health, and Advanced Research Project Agencies undoubtedly had a profound
impact on the direction of both the US economy and the rate of scientific
progress during the mid-late 20th century.

 _> I don't see what the problem is to let China do what it does, and focus
everybody else's goal on other more important things - like reducing global
C02 emissions... You could generate millions of jobs just by doing that._

What makes these mutually exclusive?

~~~
BobbyJo
Also, the entirety of what China has accomplished is based on political
decree...

~~~
barkingcat
exactly this. China did all / everything by political decree...

You like their High Speed Rail network? Oh that was a political decree when
nobody in its population could even afford to ride a high speed train.

You like their science? That's a political decree as well.

~~~
blackrock
You’ve gotta admit, their high speed rail network is very impressive. And it
all runs on electricity.

Granted, most of the current electrical production comes from coal I think. At
least until they can phase that out for natural gas, solar, and nuclear.

And 10 years ago, the western media was a laughing at China, and declaring
that their high speed rail network was a commercial failure, because most
Chinese people couldn’t afford the expensive train tickets.

But then, fast forward to today, and their high speed trains are running at
maximum capacity. At least before the virus. They cannot run anymore trains,
because of clearance requirements, so they are building newer dedicated
tracks.

The median Chinese person’s income had increased in the past few years, that
more of them can afford the travel and vacations, and can pay for a high speed
rail ticket.

And the interesting thing, is that the newer dedicated tracks will run on the
even faster maglev technology, that they indigenously developed, which can run
almost as fast as an airplane.

This new maglev technology was not stolen from Japan or Germany, or gasp, the
United States. Unless they have a time machine too, and stole it from future
American technology. LOL.

The other interesting development is that they built a low speed maglev
intracity rail to move people around. But this doesn’t get as much attention
as the faster trains.

Pretty interesting developments.

