21 August 2015

GE and SUNY Poly developing SiC power electronics packaging facility at QUAD C

New York State governor Andrew Cuomo has announced that GE Global Research Center of Niskayuna, NY, USA will expand its New York global operations to the Mohawk Valley, serving as the anchor tenant of the Computer Chip Commercialization Center (QUAD C) on the campus of the State University of New York (SUNY) Polytechnic Institute's Colleges of Nanoscale Science and Engineering (CNSE) in Utica. Between SUNY Poly, GE and affiliated corporations, nearly 500 jobs are expected to be created in the Mohawk Valley in the next five years, plus another 350 in the subsequent five years.

Cuomo also announced that Austria-based analog IC and sensor manufacturer ams AG plans to generate more than 1000 new jobs and initially invest over $2bn in construction of a 360,000ft2 wafer fabrication plant at the Nano Utica site in Marcy.

Nano Utica is governor Cuomo's $1.5bn economic development plan to revitalize the Mohawk Valley by establishing a nanotechnology-driven ecosystem, including QUAD C and the Marcy Nanocenter.

These two new public-private partnerships represent the launch of the next phase of the Nano Utica initiative, which now exceeds more than 4000 projected jobs over the next ten years. Designed to replicate the success of SUNY Poly's Nanotech Megaplex in Albany, Nano Utica aims to boost New York's role as a hub for 21st century nanotechnology innovation, education, and economic development. 

"Today's announcement by Governor Andrew Cuomo represents a major expansion for Quad-C and the Nano Utica initiative," comments SUNY Poly's president & CEO Dr Alain Kaloyeros. "Governor Cuomo's pioneering economic development model, coupled with SUNY Poly CNSE's world-class expertise and resources, continues to generate historic investment and job creation throughout the state."

GE's SiC power electronics packaging facility

GE Global Research and SUNY Poly will develop a power electronics packaging facility at QUAD C that aims to advance New York's role in next-generation semiconductor research, development, and commercial fabrication to meet global demand for smaller, faster and more efficient devices. This will expand the scope of the Nano Utica initiative from computer chip commercialization into power electronics applications for industrial products such as wind turbines, utility-scale solar inverters, data centers and hybrid cars. GE's silicon carbide (SiC) technology provides a material platform upon which the next generation of power devices can be built, enabling higher power in smaller, more efficient packages. 

"Together with New York State and SUNY Polytechnic Institute in Albany, and now Utica, we are creating a Silicon Carbide Corridor that will be the epicenter of the next revolution in power," says GE's senior VP & chief technology officer Mark Little. "In Utica, it will expand the focus from computer chip commercialization to creating the first US-based Power Electronics Manufacturing Center with GE's silicon carbide technology," he adds. 

Advanced packaging technologies are vital in the development of faster and more powerful computer chips, as well as silicon carbide chips for power electronics applications. The packaging facility at QUAD C targets commercial breakthroughs in an array of applications ranging from defense, super-computing, tablets, cell phones, and a myriad of power electronics applications.

The packaging facility is a critical component of the New York Power Electronics Manufacturing Consortium, the governor's $500m public-private semiconductor research partnership that involves over 100 companies. Based at the SUNY Poly Megaplex in Albany with lead partners including GE and IBM, the consortium is driving coordinated materials research and job creation across the Upstate corridor. 

QUAD C and Nano Utica

The expansion of QUAD C includes cleanrooms, laboratories, hands-on education and workforce training facilities, and integrated offices encompassing 253,000ft2. It is reckoned that the cleanroom will be the first of its kind in the USA: 56,000ft2 stacked on two levels and now five times larger than initial plans.

In accordance with the governor Cuomo's innovation-driven economic development model, no public funds will be given to private companies. New York will invest $250m at QUAD C and the Marcy Nanocenter to support critical equipment and infrastructure improvements at both locations. The state will own and manage these facilities through SUNY Poly, and such state investment will catalyze the Mohawk Valley's high-tech economic ecosystem, aiming to attract additional nanotechnology jobs and supply-chain companies to support and contribute to the Nano Utica initiative.

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