CHIPS NAPMP: Materials and Substrates R&D

CHIPS NAPMP: Materials and Substrates R&D

Funds U.S. companies and institutions developing advanced packaging substrates and substrate materials to accelerate domestic semiconductor supply chain capacity.

Eligibility · United States — R&D and manufacturing must be in the U.S.; projects must benefit domestic semiconductor supply chain.

⚠ This may reflect a past cycle — verify the current call on the funder's site.

CHIPS NAPMP Materials and Substrates NOFO 1 was issued by the CHIPS for America R&D program office under NIST and the Department of Commerce on February 28, 2024. It sits under the National Advanced Packaging Manufacturing Program (NAPMP), one of four R&D programs funded by the $11 billion CHIPS R&D investment. This was the first R&D NOFO issued by CHIPS for America. The program anticipated approximately $300 million in funding across multiple technologies — from semiconductor-based to glass and organic substrates.

On January 16, 2025, CHIPS for America awarded a total of $300 million across three recipients: Absolics Inc. (Georgia, $100 million for glass-core substrate packaging); Applied Materials Inc. (California, $100 million for silicon-core substrate technology); and Arizona State University (Arizona, $100 million for fan-out-wafer-level processing). Applied Materials is the only for-profit awardee, demonstrating that large commercial semiconductor equipment and materials companies are directly eligible.

Eligibility was open to companies, universities, and consortia. There was a mandatory concept paper stage due April 12, 2024, followed by full applications due July 3, 2024 by invitation only. A foreign entity of concern (as defined in 15 U.S.C. § 4651) was explicitly ineligible. Research security plans were required.

This funding opportunity is closed. A second NAPMP NOFO was published in October 2024 but was subsequently closed in September 2025 without awards, with applicants redirected to the CRDO BAA. There is no currently open competition under this specific NAPMP track.