Master of the Microchip

IN FILMS LIKE 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY, WAR GAMES, AND THE TERMINATOR, Hollywood painted a bleak future of where computers with artificial intelligence (AI) designed to aid humans, run amok and attempt to eliminate them. Fortunately, these frightening scenarios were limited to science fiction on the silver screen.

Layout of a chip designed by ECE 628 students

What has transpired in today’s high-tech world is the increased importance of microchips, small electronic devices that perform various functions like processing and storing information for a wide variety of applications. Also known as an integrated circuit, microchips are made up of multiple interconnected components like transistors, resistors and capacitors that are fabricated on a silicon wafer. Unlike discrete components that perform one simple fixed function, integrated circuits can perform multiple functions and are magnitudes smaller, faster and less costly. As a result, microchips have revolutionized the electronics world by making smartphones, home appliances, medical devices and computers a part of everyday life.

As a result of increasing demand, the microchip industry continues to grow at a healthy clip of around ten percent annually. However, the industry’s reliance on design and manufacturing from countries like Taiwan and Korea has led to a shortage of homegrown facilities and talents in the United States (US). To serve as a buffer to the uncertainties stemming from global events and its effects on supply, the US government passed the $52 billion US CHIPS Act in 2022 to help the country become more self-sufficient in the full chip production cycle, by leveraging new capabilities such as AI and machine learning.

Murmann and his students from the ECE 628 open-source design course

Keeping in step with this initiative, the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa (UH Mānoa) College of Engineering is strategically positioning itself to help meet these demands by establishing research initiatives in AI and integrated circuit design. The cornerstone of this effort was marked by the arrival of Professor Boris Murmann, a world-renowned expert in microchip development. Murmann joined UH Mānoa last year after a stellar 20-year career as an assistant, associate and full professor of electrical engineering at Stanford University.

Professor Boris Murmann

During his tenure at Stanford, Murmann was actively involved in cutting-edge, multidisciplinary research projects, focusing on custom chip design for a variety of applications in sensing, computing and data communication. For instance, he contributed to the development of chips for neurotechnology, aiming to restore vision to the blind or replacing other body functions lost after injuries or illness, including paralysis, hearing, and memory loss. His team has also contributed to making machine learning chips more energy efficient, thereby enabling their deployment in small, battery-powered devices.

In spite of having key roles in these and other groundbreaking projects at an institution widely considered as a world leader in research and innovation activity, Murmann decided to reset his research agenda and start off with a clean slate, which brought him in Hawai‘i and UH Mānoa.

At UH Mānoa, Murmann plans to establish a new research agenda in AI-driven chip design that can enable substantially shorter design times. This will fuel new applications and prototyping approaches that were previously incompatible with typical design time and cost. Strategically, this approach will leverage the current generation’s talents in coding and machine learning/AI to replace decade-old paradigms and synergize with exciting new possibilities in workforce development.

“Currently, there is a huge bottleneck in chip design, often taking one or two years to complete, followed by months to fabricate it,” said Murmann, a recipient of the 2021 University Research Award presented by the Semiconductor Research Corporation (SRC)/Semiconductor Industry Association for his lifetime research contributions to the U.S. semiconductor industry. “By utilizing software and AI knowledge in my research and teaching, I’m looking to dramatically increase the productivity and shorten the design phase through these new approaches.”

Murmann has armed his students with a blend of open-source approaches, critical to AI advancement, and essential insider knowledge for semiconductor design to create the next generation of chips more efficiently. Through the California-Pacific-Northwest AI Hardware Hub, which is supported through the US CHIPS Act, Murmann is able to exchange ideas and collaborate with his academic peers at other institutions like Stanford, the University of Washington, and the University of California, Berkeley to help develop and scale UH Mānoa’s initiative.

“We are extremely fortunate to have a faculty member of Boris’ caliber to help jumpstart the College of Engineering’s efforts to expand our AI research and curriculum,” said Brennon Morioka, dean of the college. “His extensive knowledge and experience in microchip research will help to position UH Mānoa to become a leader in the development of cutting-edge AI technologies that will strengthen our knowledge base, our workforce, and our economy in Hawai‘i.” 

Both Murmann and Morioka view this as a great opportunity to diversify the economy in Hawai‘i. Since design work can be done remotely, there is no expensive factory to be built or costly infrastructure to maintain. They both consider it a “low hanging fruit” to get young, local talent to work in an exciting and growing industry.

“Chip design has reached a critical inflection point,” said Murmann, who recently received the 2024 Aristotle Award by the SRC for his deep commitment to educational experience of students. “The future needs of our industry can only be met if we make chip design more agile and find new ways to attract the best and brightest into our field.”