The Department of Defense Might Agree
Currently, there is a separation between design and manufacturing because image sensor fabrication facilities are predominantly in Asia, which creates an obstacle to innovation at the pixel/process level for U.S. designers. Willy Shih, a professor at Harvard Business School and senior contributor at Forbes, tells us, “For innovations that are of national and economic security interest to the U.S., it would definitely be better for that innovation to happen in a domestically-located fab, even if that fab were owned and operated by a foreign company. Given how pervasively image sensors are used in defense and commercial applications, especially the rapid growth we will see in the automotive sector, one could make a strong case for establishing domestic image sensor manufacturing capabilities. I imagine that the Department of Defense would agree.”
What Does This Mean for the U.S.?
SIONYX, a company born at Harvard, embeds image sensors in products for the consumer industry. It also sells to law enforcement for nighttime search and rescue. This U.S. company outsources its chips. Meaning another facility manufactures and assembles the chips for SIONYX.
“With the application process for the CHIPS and Science Act now open, one question is how the money will be spread over the four categories the government intends to subsidize. Shih explains further that leading-edge logic factories or “fabs” have attracted the most attention because the U.S. is no longer at the front of the pack in the most advanced semiconductor manufacturing. But “current generation and mature nodes” is interesting for a different reason–these fabs are used to make digital devices embedded in everyday products and systems critical to national defense. Among these chips are the optical image sensors used in digital cameras, phones, cars, doorbells, and a rapidly growing number of other applications.”
These semiconductors are crucial to national defense and the everyday electronics we use. Thus, it only makes sense that the U.S. approves the application for image sensor manufacturing to be funded via the CHIPS and Science Act in the U.S. rather than overseas.
As a supplier to the U.S. military, PCX is committed to making a difference. By supporting the U.S. Military’s global mission, Pacific Component Xchange and over 600 other small businesses supply the world’s most advanced aerial refueler, the Boeing KC-46.
Want to know more? Click here to read our BOEING KC-46 SUPPLIER SPOTLIGHT.