The US Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently released its first major assessment of federal investments made under the CHIPS and Science Act to expand domestic semiconductor manufacturing. The study provides an overview of how the US Department of Commerce has awarded more than US$30 billion in funding to bolster US chip production, increase supply chain resilience and support long-term technological competitiveness.

The federal investments were selected to strengthen multiple stages of the semiconductor supply chain, including manufacturing, advanced packaging, and core materials and equipment required for fabrication. Under this rubric, the Department of Commerce awarded funding to 19 companies across 40 projects, supporting advanced logic and memory production, mature node and specialty semiconductor manufacturing, advanced packaging capabilities and critical upstream inputs.

Several of the funded projects pertain to optics and photonics technologies. These include facilities dedicated to producing optoelectronic, sensor and discrete devices used across imaging, lidar, communications and industrial sensing. Other projects center on advanced packaging that enables next-generation interconnects and heterogeneous integration. Additional investments support key fabrication inputs such as ultra-high-purity polysilicon, contamination control systems, precision glass components, and equipment used in lithography and thin film processes.

Optica Corporate members were among the awardees. Intel received support for major facility expansions in Arizona, New Mexico, Ohio and Oregon that advance both manufacturing and advanced packaging capabilities. Corning received funding to expand production of specialized glass used in lithography systems and precision optical components. Also, GlobalFoundries secured support for projects in New York and Vermont focused on mature node and specialty manufacturing, including optoelectronic and sensor devices. Finally, funding was awarded to Infinera, recently acquired by Nokia, supporting advanced optical communications manufacturing.