Feb_March_AMP_Digital

6 A D V A N C E D M A T E R I A L S & P R O C E S S E S | F E B R U A R Y / M A R C H 2 0 1 8 FEEDBACK A new $26 million center led by the University of Notre Dame will focus on conducting research that aims to in- crease the performance, efficiency, and capabilities of future computing sys- tems for both commercial and defense applications. The multidisciplinary cen- ter will develop advanced technologies to sustain the semiconductor industry’s goals of increasing performance and re- ducing costs. Researchers are steadi- ly advancing toward these goals via relentless 2D scaling as well as the ad- dition of performance boosters to com- plementary metal oxide semiconduc- tor (CMOS) technology. However, the exponentially increasing demand for connected devices, big data analytics, cloud computing, and machine learn- ing technologies requires future inno- vations that transcend the impending limits of current CMOS technology. 3D PRINTING AND CASTING I amdisappointed that the authors’ response in the Nov/Dec 2017 “Feedback” department did not accu- rately identify the radically different product maturities and capabilities of castings and 3D-printedmetal parts. As more mature technology, castings have legacy design practices that include casting factors that can be reduced or eliminated with modeling and quality control. The design proper- ties andmature modeling techniques allow casting designers confidence in the performance of cast parts prior to production. In contrast, 3D-printedmetal parts lack standard design properties RESEARCH TRACKS Send letters to frances.richards@asminternational.org. “We have assembled a group of globally recognized technical leaders in a wide range of areas—from materi- als science and device physics to circuit design and advanced packaging,” says Suman Datta, director of the Applica- tions and Systems-driven Center for En- ergy-Efficient integrated Nano Technol- ogies (ASCENT) at Notre Dame. ASCENT comprises 20 faculty members from 13 research universi- ties, including Arizona State Universi- ty, Cornell University, Georgia Institute of Technology, Purdue University, Stan- ford University, University of Minneso- ta, University of Colorado, University of Texas-Dallas and four University of California campuses including Berke- ley, Los Angeles, San Diego, and Santa Barbara. Researchers will pursue four areas of technology including 3D inte- gration of device technologies beyond NEW CENTER SUPPORTS NEXT-GENERATION COMPUTING a single planar layer (ver- tical CMOS); spin-based device concepts that com- bine processing and memory func- tions (beyond CMOS); heterogeneous integration of functionally diverse na- no-components into integrated mi- crosystems (heterogeneous integra- tion fabric); and hardware accelerators for data intensive cognitive workloads (merged logic-memory fabric). ASCENT is one of six research centers funded by the Semiconductor Research Corporation’s (SRC) Joint University Microelectronics Program, which represents a consortium of in- dustrial participants and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. For more information, visit www.src.org/ program/jump/ascent. and each component must be qualified for service. There are no standards and no inspection techniques that can qualify a critical part apart from component testing. Casting producers are quite familiar with 3D technology and were the earliest adopters, devel- oping tooling, patterns, andmolds with 3D techniques from the beginning. We use 3D printing to move directly from modeling to production. Castings and all components including 3D-printed parts have performance-limiting features that must be understood and controlled to get reliable service. The design freedom of 3D-printed parts will enable more creative and complex castings. Further, inspection and post processing requirements of 3D-printed parts will accelerate the use of high-performance castings. For ex- ample, using hot isostatic pressing (HIP) techniques to ensure performance of 3D-printed parts will develop the infra- structure to HIP cast components and achieve many of the same benefits. Both castings and 3D-printed parts allow designers to create unique geometries and properties in three di- mensions to improve performance. We both need to enhance our pro- cess modeling and process control to improve reliability and performance. We both benefit from developing post-processing techniques like HIP. Most disappointing was the fail- ure to acknowledge the main point from Keough, that taking molten met- al and making it into a powder that must be reprocessed into a part will always be less energy efficient than forming the part directly as a casting. Raymond W. Monroe Executive Vice President Steel Founders’ Society of America