  Semiconductor innovation drives improvements to technologies that are
critical to modern society. The country that successfully accelerates
semiconductor innovation is positioned to lead future semiconductor-driven
industries and benefit from the resulting economic growth. It is our view that
a next generation infrastructure is necessary to accelerate and enhance
semiconductor innovation in the U.S. In this paper, we propose such an advanced
infrastructure composed of a national network of facilities with enhancements
in technology and business models. These enhancements enable application-driven
and challenge-based research and development, and ensure that facilities are
accessible and sustainable. The main tenets are: a challenge-driven operational
model, a next-generation infrastructure to serve that operational model,
technology innovations needed for advanced facilities to speed up learning
cycles, and innovative cost-effective business models for sustainability.
Ultimately, the expected outcomes of such a participatory, scalable, and
sustainable nation-level advanced infrastructure will have tremendous impact on
government, industry, and academia alike.
