UB to lead $7.5 million project to improve computer chip reliability and security via revolutionary testing advancements

Published March 21, 2022

Print

Sciencemag reported that UB has been selected by the Department of Defense to lead a $7.5 million project to develop new concepts for precision testing of important qualities of semiconductor chips.

Research goals include increasing fundamental understanding of physical processes that could be used to evaluate chip performance and security, and creating new, ultra-sensitive testing strategies that build on this knowledge. “Our ambitious MURI project focuses on testing the structure, function, operation and security of the integrated circuits that comprise semiconductor chips,” says UB researcher Paras Prasad, the project’s principal investigator. “We have a great team, and this is exciting work.

“The semiconductor chip is the heart of electronic products: Your cell phone, computer, tablet, television, even your washing machine — everything’s got a chip in it, and these chips are incredibly complex, miniature circuits. What our project is about is establishing new techniques for probing or monitoring chips so that you can enhance their performance even further,” says Jonathan Bird, PhD, professor and chair of electrical engineering at UB and a co-principal investigator on the grant.

Read the story hereNiagara Frontier Publications and Patch NY also reported on the story.