DOE national laboratories and NY Creates launch microelectronics pilot for High-NA EUV lithography and nanoscale metrology

AI-generated editorial illustration: optical glass prisms, an unbranded microchip on a stone block, a blank research folder and brass tweezers represent EUV lithography research and microelectronics prototyping, not actual equipment.

Synchrotron X-ray user facilities connect with Albany’s High-NA EUV Lithography Center

Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), and the nonprofit semiconductor research organization NY Creates announced on November 5, 2026, the launch of a microelectronics pilot program (release 2026-23197) funded by the US Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science. Following a September 2026 kickoff meeting and facility tour at the Albany NanoTech Complex in Albany, New York, the initiative lowers barriers for chipmakers, toolmakers, and materials researchers to conduct pre-competitive R&D across two core domains: lithography—spanning low-numerical-aperture and next-generation high-numerical-aperture extreme ultraviolet (High-NA EUV) patterning—and nanoscale metrology for energy-efficient chips supporting Super Intelligence (SI) workloads.¹²

Each institution contributes distinct physical infrastructure. Brookhaven National Laboratory provides high-resolution X-ray scattering, spectroscopy, and nanoscale imaging at the National Synchrotron Light Source II (NSLS-II)—including the Hard X-ray Nanoprobe (HXN) beamline—and the Center for Functional Nanomaterials (CFN); BNL employs nearly 3,000 staff and hosts more than 5,000 visiting researchers annually. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory contributes EUV patterning science, soft X-ray synchrotron beamlines at the Advanced Light Source (ALS, including the Center for X-ray Optics), the Molecular Foundry, and scientific computing. NY Creates serves as the lab-to-fab bridge operating the Albany NanoTech Complex and its High NA EUV Lithography Center, supported by over 2,700 industry experts and faculty and $25 billion in public and private investments.¹²

Real-time AI ptychography reaches 200 images per second, while the pilot remains pre-competitive without disclosed funding totals

Complementing the metrology partnership, Brookhaven highlighted on November 4, 2026, results from SYNAPS-I (Synergistic Neutron and Photon Science – Intelligence), a multi-lab project led by Berkeley Lab under DOE’s Genesis Mission. Tested at the NSLS-II Hard X-ray Nanoprobe beamline using NVIDIA Holoscan edge computing and Meta’s Segment Anything Model 3 (SAM3), the workflow reconstructed three-dimensional microchip structures via X-ray ptychography at 200 images per second while requiring only one-tenth of standard tomographic scan data—compressing analysis that previously took weeks into real-time feedback during beamline experiments.³

The November 5 announcement nonetheless carries clear scope boundaries: the pilot program is structured around pre-competitive workshops, shared workflows, and streamlined user-facility access rather than commercial chip production. Neither the DOE Office of Science, the two national laboratories, nor NY Creates disclosed a specific dollar award for the pilot program, named participating commercial chipmakers, or set a commercial tape-out schedule. While synchrotron metrology and real-time AI reconstruction can clarify photoresist chemistry and nanoscale defect formation, translating those findings into fab yield gains depends on subsequent industry-led adoption.¹²³

Source notes

1. 2026-11-05 · DOE Labs and NY Creates Partner to Advance U.S. Microelectronics · Brookhaven National Laboratory. ↩ ↩² ↩³

2. 2026-11-05 · DOE Labs and NY Creates Partner to Advance U.S. Microelectronics · NY Creates. ↩ ↩² ↩³

3. 2026-11-04 · Transforming How Scientists Study Advanced Microchips with AI · Brookhaven National Laboratory. ↩ ↩²