BALTIMORE, Md. – Northrop Grumman’s Microelectronics Center is now open for external aerospace and defense companies to access the company’s three U.S. government-accredited semiconductor manufacturing facilities. This decision expands the secure production of defense microelectronics on U.S. soil.
The open-access business model allows:
- External entities, including commercial businesses, aerospace and defense companies, the U.S. Government, academia, federally funded research and development centers and others, to design, manufacture, package and test microelectronics domestically for commercial and defense applications.
- Access to end-to-end U.S.-based advanced packaging facilities with reliable semiconductor design, post-processing, assembly and test for current and future generation technologies.
- Purchase of Northrop Grumman-produced semiconductor products and components via an online storefront.
Vern Boyle, vice president of the Northrop Grumman Microelectronics Center, said, “By opening our defense-grade manufacturing facilities to partners, Northrop Grumman is expanding and strengthening the resilience of America's semiconductor industry and supply chain. We are providing partners with unprecedented access to design and develop domestic chips as well as the ability to directly purchase from us, enhancing collaboration across the broader defense industrial base.”
Northrop Grumman's Microelectronics Center is comprised of three manufacturing facilities – two U.S. government-accredited semiconductor foundries in California and Maryland and an advanced packaging facility in Florida.
Its advanced packaging facility is capable of 100mm-300mm wafer bumping, probing, and dicing, which allows multiple smaller, specialized chips to be combined into a single, more powerful electronics package. Unlike traditional methods that place multiple chips side-by-side into a system, advanced packaging integrates multiple specialized chips together with high-density connections into a 3D chip stack.
According to industry research, 98% of advanced packaging needs are sent offshore, which poses a risk to threats from global impacts. Northrop Grumman is one of few defense companies who can package chips within the U.S.
