Device Research Laboratory

Device Research Laboratory
Name	Device Research Laboratory
Formation	1958
Headquarters	Palo Alto, California
Coordinates	37.4419°N 122.1430°W
Leader title	Director
Leader name	Dr. Helen Navarro
Staff	~1,200

Device Research Laboratory Device Research Laboratory is an independent research institute focused on applied device engineering, semiconductor systems, and microelectromechanical systems. Founded in the late 1950s as a response to advances in transistor technology and materials science, the Laboratory evolved through collaborations with industrial innovators and academic centers to become a multidisciplinary hub for prototype development. Its alumni and partners include figures and organizations from Silicon Valley, major research universities, national laboratories, and industry consortia.

History

The Laboratory traces roots to mid-20th century initiatives involving figures and organizations such as William Shockley, Fairchild Semiconductor, Stanford University, IBM, and Bell Labs, with early ties to industrial pioneers like Gordon Moore, Robert Noyce, and Jean Hoerni. Expansion in the 1960s and 1970s intersected with projects involving DARPA, NASA, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Sandia National Laboratories, and Argonne National Laboratory. During the 1980s the Laboratory engaged with companies such as Intel, Texas Instruments, Hewlett-Packard, and Bellcore while collaborating with academic groups from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of California, Berkeley, California Institute of Technology, and Cornell University. In the 1990s it contributed to initiatives alongside National Science Foundation, SEMATECH, Advanced Micro Devices, Motorola, and Lucent Technologies. The 21st century saw partnerships with Google, Apple Inc., NVIDIA, Qualcomm, and Microsoft Research, and engagements with research centers like MIT Lincoln Laboratory, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and Carnegie Mellon University.

Mission and Research Focus

The Laboratory’s mission centers on translating discoveries from institutions such as Harvard University, Yale University, Princeton University, University of California, San Diego, and University of Michigan into device-scale prototypes and commercial-ready processes. Research themes include semiconductor device physics influenced by work at Bell Labs, energy-efficient computing initiatives akin to ASCI efforts, sensors and actuators following traditions at SRI International and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, photonics research echoing activities at Optical Society of America-affiliated centers, and packaging and reliability studies connected to JEDEC standards committees. Emphasis is also placed on microfabrication processes developed in the spirit of Klavins-era techniques and materials innovation inspired by Mott-type solid-state research groups.

Facilities and Equipment

Facilities at the Laboratory include cleanrooms comparable in class to those at IMEC, TSMC pilot lines, and university microfabrication facilities like Cornell NanoScale Science and Technology Facility. Equipment portfolios reference connections to tools and capabilities found at SEMATECH centers: electron-beam lithography systems similar to those used at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, atomic layer deposition systems used by teams at Northwestern University, focused ion beam tools paralleling those in Argonne National Laboratory user facilities, and scanning transmission electron microscopes of the sort employed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Test and measurement capabilities match those used by groups from National Institute of Standards and Technology, Agilent Technologies, Keysight Technologies, Rohde & Schwarz, and Tektronix.

Major Projects and Innovations

Notable projects have intersected with initiatives at DARPA programs, joint efforts with NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and prototype programs alongside Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Specific innovations include low-power transistor designs inspired by scaling roadmaps championed by Gordon Moore, MEMS sensors with lineage to Stanford Research Institute developments, photonic integrated circuits paralleling work at Intel Labs and Cisco Systems, and heterogeneous integration efforts related to packaging advances seen at Achronix and Broadcom. The Laboratory contributed to cryogenic electronics research reminiscent of programs at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, and produced RF front-end prototypes comparable to contributions from Qualcomm and Broadcom Corporation. Technology transfers have involved start-ups and spin-offs resonant with trajectories of Ampleon and Xilinx.

Organizational Structure and Governance

The Laboratory is governed by a board comprising representatives from institutions such as Stanford University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of California, Berkeley, Princeton University, and industry seats drawn from Intel, Google, Apple Inc., IBM, and Texas Instruments. Management employs program directors with prior affiliations to DARPA, National Science Foundation, Sandia National Laboratories, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, and IBM Research. Technical divisions mirror organizational models used at Bell Labs and PARC with group leads who often hold adjunct appointments at universities including Carnegie Mellon University, University of California, San Diego, Columbia University, and Yale University.

Collaborations and Partnerships

The Laboratory maintains formal partnerships with research universities such as Stanford University, UC Berkeley, MIT, Caltech, Georgia Institute of Technology, University of Texas at Austin, University of Washington, and Purdue University. Industry collaborations include alliances with Intel, Qualcomm, NVIDIA, Apple Inc., Google, Cisco Systems, Broadcom, and Texas Instruments. Government and national-lab relationships involve DARPA, NASA, National Science Foundation, DOE, NOAA, NIST, Sandia National Laboratories, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and Argonne National Laboratory. International links include consortia like IMEC, CEA-Leti, Fraunhofer Society, Tsinghua University, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, and Tokyo Institute of Technology.

Funding and Intellectual Property

Funding sources have included awards and contracts from National Science Foundation, DARPA, Department of Energy, NASA, and industry-sponsored research from Intel, Google, Apple Inc., Qualcomm, and NVIDIA. Technology licensing has followed models used by Stanford University and MIT Technology Licensing Office, resulting in patents filed with involvement from practitioners who previously worked at Bell Labs, IBM Research, Hewlett-Packard Labs, and Xerox PARC. Spin-offs and startups emerging from the Laboratory have sought venture capital from firms associated with Sequoia Capital, Kleiner Perkins, Andreessen Horowitz, Benchmark (firm), and Greylock Partners.

Category:Research institutes in California