Applied Materials and Arizona State University (ASU) have officially opened the Materials-to-Fab Center, a $270 million research and prototyping facility located at ASU’s MacroTechnology Works in Tempe. The launch event coincided with the SEMICON West conference in Phoenix, which brought together leaders from the semiconductor industry.
Executives from Applied Materials, including Prabu Raja, president of the Semiconductor Products Group, joined ASU President Michael Crow, Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs, and Sandra Watson, CEO of the Arizona Commerce Authority, to highlight the significance of the new center for both Arizona and the broader semiconductor sector.
“The work of advancing discovery and, with it, the American semiconductor manufacturing industry is of vital importance to the nation from both an economic competitiveness and a national security perspective,” said Crow. He added: “The alliance between a global industry leader like Applied Materials and a leading research university like ASU, and the work that will be done in the Materials-to-Fab Center, will lead to breakthroughs and acceleration that enable chip manufacturers in the United States to lead the world in developing the technology that we need today and in the future.”
The Materials-to-Fab Center aims to support research and development for next-generation semiconductor technologies. It will help transition microelectronics discoveries from early-stage research into applications ready for commercial production—a stage often referred to as the “valley of death” for R&D projects. The center brings together state-of-the-art manufacturing equipment from Applied Materials into a collaborative environment where universities, industry partners, startups, government agencies, and other academic institutions can work jointly.
“Universities are the foundation of America’s semiconductor innovation pipeline, and we look forward to bringing together ASU’s world-class engineering teams with Applied Materials technologists and ecosystem partners at the Materials-to-Fab Center,” said Raja. “These collaborations will focus on accelerating development of new chip technologies that are crucial to U.S. leadership in AI, high-performance computing and other megatrends shaping the future.”
Applied Materials is recognized as one of America’s largest suppliers of semiconductor manufacturing equipment. Its tools are used globally for chip production. ASU complements this by conducting research ranging from initial innovation through advanced packaging to large-scale manufacturing. With nearly 33,000 students enrolled in its engineering school—the largest in the country—ASU plays a key role in workforce development for this sector.
Governor Hobbs described how this partnership benefits Arizona: “The Materials-to-Fab Center is a marriage made for Arizona and something that will benefit the entire region. Applied Materials is an industry leader that already has a presence in the state with many of its customers invested in doing work within the ecosystem that is growing here, and Arizona State University is a powerful force behind all the work being done, producing both the people who will lead this industry into the future and the ideas that will shape its progress.
“I am grateful to the Arizona Commerce Authority for helping this all come together and very excited to see this contribution to our economy coming to realization.”
Watson called it “a win for the state,” saying: “The launch of the Materials-To-Fab Center ushers in a new era for U.S. semiconductor innovation, providing a one-of-a-kind platform where innovators can test, refine and accelerate new processes and technologies. This pioneering collaboration between Applied Materials and ASU strengthens Arizona’s position as a national leader in semiconductor R & D, and we’re proud to support this transformative initiative.”
The center builds on existing partnerships between Applied Materials and ASU at MacroTechnology Works as well as ongoing company-funded research involving faculty and students at ASU. This collaboration has contributed to projects awarded under federal initiatives such as CHIPS and Science Act programs—the Southwest Advanced Prototyping (SWAP) Hub focused on rapid technology translation for defense needs; SHIELD USA focuses on advanced packaging technologies.
Sally Morton, executive vice president of ASU’s Knowledge Enterprise—which leads university research—said: “The physical space that this delivers and the tools provided by Applied Materials through this alliance are a very important part of the Materials-to-Fab Center. But it’s also a place for experts in this field—ASU faculty and industry leaders—to come together and share ideas. Applied Materials is bringing ‘the voice of customer,’ while ASU adds curiosity & creativity from its students. We’re very excited about what will happen here.”
Seth Ariel Tongay, professor at ASU’s School for Engineering of Matter, Transport & Energy who has conducted research at MTF Center explained: “We’re taking technologies from early discovery phase to where they’re ready for real-world use… That’s where many great ideas tend to stall; this center is designed so they don’t.” His current focus involves two-dimensional semiconductors—materials only atoms thick—which could power future AI processors or quantum devices.
“This kind of setup is almost unheard of in a university setting,” Tongay said. “Most research labs stop at discovery. The MTF Center lets us go further. We can take those discoveries and develop them into real manufacturable technologies.”
According to a press release, Arizona State University has previously partnered with tech startup Argos Vision on smart traffic cameras installed across Phoenix as part of efforts toward technological innovation.
In addition,Arizona State University was named number one in innovation by U.S News & World Report for eight consecutive years based on nominations by higher education leaders nationwide.
