Latest News

Two projects accelerate CA DREAMS
For its second year of operation, hub partner Northrop Grumman leads two major projects: one aims to develop a next-generation semiconductor material known as gallium nitride (GaN), and the other aims to create advanced prototypes for faster, more reliable, next-generation wireless networks.

IEEE Offers New Credential to Address Tech Skills Gap
Last year IEEE collaborated with the University of Southern California, in Los Angeles, and the California DREAMS on a microcredentialing program to give learners industry-relevant skills in semiconductor fabrication.

USC’s CA DREAMS Hub secures additional $27 million in DoD funding
The Department of Defense has awarded an additional $27 million from the CHIPS & Science Act to CA DREAMS. This continued investment will further support CA DREAMS in advancing U.S. semiconductor capabilities by expanding its infrastructure, operations, and workforce development.

California DREAMS Offers IEEE-certified Cleanroom Microcredentials
In an effort to create non-traditional pathways into the semiconductor and microelectronics workforce, the California Defense Ready Electronics and Microdevices Superhub (CA DREAMS) can now award microcredentials certified by IEEE to fellows and undergraduate students who complete its Cleanroom Gateway training program.

Undergraduate Microelectronics Commons Scholars Program Brings the Textbook to Life in the Cleanroom
California DREAMS provided training and internships to two undergraduate cohorts this summer. The program exposes students to research faculty laboratories earlier in their academic studies; advises students on what companies to apply for after they have completed the program; and counsels students on what courses they should take to continue forward in the field.

California DREAMS partnership solves secondary sourcing challenge
Troubleshooting for secondary source materials can often be time and labor intensive, taking up to a year to solve. In a Pipe Cleaner project, Hub partners University of California, San Diego and Northrop Grumman worked together to find a substitute process material. The promising result took months off their normal timeline.

Microelectronics Commons projects begin receiving inaugural funds
The Microelectronics Commons initiative has released a comprehensive list of the 33 semiconductor technology projects that have been chosen to receive the program’s first round of funding. Northrop Grumman leads both initiatives awarded project funds via the California Defense Ready Electronics and Microdevices Superhub (CA DREAMS).

From elevator pitch to proof-of-concept in less than half the time
An engineer from USC and an engineer from Northrop Grumman walk into an elevator. The two strike up a conversation, and in the short time it takes to arrive at their destination, a new collaborative Pipe Cleaner project is born. It may help accelerate breakthroughs and solutions through a lab-to-fab model.

USC-led CA DREAMS hub gets $31.9m DoD funding
The US Department of Defense is directing $31.9m in funding to the California Defense Ready Electronics and Microdevices Superhub (CA DREAMS), led by USC Viterbi’s Information Sciences Institute. The award aims to accelerate the development of advanced semiconductor technologies.

How an innovative California DREAMS collaboration uses big data to reduce failures in the university nanofab
Through a collaboration initiated by the CA DREAMS hub, UC Santa Barbara’s Nanofabrication Facility is leveraging data analytics tools from PDF Solutions to improve uniformity and repeatability in academic nanofab processes. If successful, it could put the hub on the right path to accelerating lab-to-fab transitions.