About Dreams
Led by the University of Southern California Information Sciences Institute (USC/ISI), the Defense Ready Electronics and Microdevices Superhub (DREAMS) is one of eight regional innovation hubs established under the Department of Defense Microelectronics Commons Program. This strategic initiative is funded by the CHIPS and Sciences Act of 2022 to develop onshore microelectronics hardware prototyping.
DREAMS unites academic and commercial organizations across Southern California and our partners across the United States with three goals: maturation of advanced RF technologies for rapid prototyping, lab-to-fab transition of semiconductor technologies and training the next-generation of engineers in advanced RF and microelectronics technologies.
The pioneering USC/ISI MOSIS Multi Project Wafer (MPW) fabrication services is at the core of DREAMS. MOSIS is a transformative service that has streamlined the end-to-end prototyping of microchips for educational, commercial and national security applications for over 40 years. MOSIS 2.0 connects customers to an extensive network of state-of-the-art nanofab and foundry services, accelerating the use of advanced process and prototyping technologies within the DREAMS hub, and reducing barriers to innovation.
Unique Capabilities
- MOSIS 2.0, the next chapter of a groundbreaking semiconductor fabrication service established at USC’s Information Sciences Institute in 1981, is the sole customer-focused prototyping platform within the Microelectronics Commons.
- DREAMS wields unprecedented RF prototyping capabilities with over 200 of the nation’s top RF researchers and innovators to address the full scope of advanced RF prototyping for commercial and national security applications. These Industry pioneers, who launched the compound semiconductor revolution in gallium arsenide (GaAs), gallium nitride (GaN), indium phosphide (InP) and beyond, are at the core of the DREAMS team.
- The DREAMS workflow has been uniquely designed to enable accelerated prototyping with prototype process modules in two weeks; full-flow wafers in eight weeks; and RF system brassboards in 12 months.
- $27
- million first year funding
- 16+
- partners
- 50+
- affiliates
- 7
- University Nanofab Laboratories
- 3
- DOD-volume fab facilities
LATEST NEWS
Cleanroom Course Offers a Gateway to Microelectronics Careers
California DREAMS is conducting a pilot Cleanroom Gateway this summer for specialized learners and undergraduate students, with the goal of kickstarting a new pipeline of inspired and qualified workers by giving them their first experiences in a cleanroom setting.
Force Multiplier: California DREAMS Combines Capabilities from University Nanofabs
California DREAMS is exploring its potential to combine the capabilities of its industry-leading institutions into one place. Seven university nanofabrication laboratories are a part of DREAMS, each with unique strengths that the superhub is working to standardize into a sum even greater than its parts.
The vision of MOSIS 2.0
Established at USC Viterbi’s Information Sciences Institute (ISI) in 1981, MOSIS revolutionized the world of silicon-based semiconductor manufacturing. Now, as the industry faces new challenges and opportunities, MOSIS is embarking on its next phase: MOSIS 2.0, a pioneering initiative at the heart of California DREAMS, the Defense Ready Electronics and Microdevices SuperHub.