Photo credit: Northrop Grumman

In 1981, USC Viterbi’s Information Sciences Institute (ISI) launched a service that transformed semiconductor innovation. At the time, manufacturing experimental computer chips required producing an entire silicon wafer holding hundreds of individual chips—an expensive process costing tens of thousands of dollars.

MOSIS solved this problem by combining multiple customers’ chip designs onto a single wafer, where each customer paid only for the portion they needed. This collaborative approach drastically reduced the cost of manufacturing test runs, enabling smaller organizations to innovate.

Over four decades, MOSIS delivered more than 60,000 integrated circuit designs and generated up to $10 million annually at its peak. Now, its successor, MOSIS 2.0, is advancing this legacy to address the next-generation of chip innovation.

Building on a legacy

The USC-led California DREAMS (CA DREAMS) initiative began reinventing MOSIS in late 2023. MOSIS 2.0 not only continues offering MPW services but also expands to a second core focus: prototyping compound semiconductors. These emerging materials outperform traditional silicon-based chips at high frequencies and power applications, making them critical for next-generation technologies.

The new capability is made possible by CA DREAMS’ network of partners, including seven university nanofabrication labs and three defense industrial base (DIB) fabrication facilities across Southern California. “The advantage here is the geographic proximity of different facilities,” MOSIS 2.0 Co-Director Rehan Kapadia said.

Whereas the original MOSIS shared wafers, MOSIS 2.0 shares processes, equipment, and expertise. If a tool fails at one site, another can step in. Process knowledge is also easily shared across the network, reducing barriers to innovation and enabling faster development of complex technologies.

Bridging Research and Production

The transition from “lab-to-fab”—moving experimental research into large-scale, reliable production—is a major challenge in chip making. For compound semiconductors, this process is particularly difficult due to the lack of standardized manufacturing methods and the need for specialized tools.

“There’s a lot of R&D done in universities on new devices and materials to make analog chips,” MOSIS 2.0 Director Mike Haney said. “But this process has been hindered because there was no mechanism for university labs to readily work with full fabs.”

This is where MOSIS 2.0 offers solutions. In its first year, the team has streamlined the lab-to-fab transition through several efforts. First is the standardization of processes across partnerships, ensuring seamless project handoffs without delays or rework.

The service is also pioneering a digital transformation among its university nanofabs, which often lack the precision required for scaling innovations. By introducing AI tools, including industrial-grade data analytics and machine learning software, MOSIS 2.0 enhances equipment monitoring and process optimization. These tools detect issues in real time and help refine workflows.

Kapadia explained that using AI-enabled monitoring could halve the time required to develop new process flows. "This is unique," he said. "We’re creating a combination of physical and digital infrastructure that will truly be able to accelerate not only early stage semiconductor prototyping, but also how that is transitioned to low-volume, mid-volume, and, ultimately, high-volume production."

Administrative efficiency

Another way MOSIS 2.0 streamlines collaboration is by uniting multiple institutions under a single administrative framework. This approach could eliminate months of setup time for technical projects.

For example, when hub partner Northrop Grumman, a leading global and aerospace defense technology company, needed to test a new chip patterning process, they connected with USC’s nanofabrication lab through MOSIS 2.0’s pre-established channels. What would normally require months of legal agreements and process setup was completed in two weeks.

“It was just amazing to see the speed of this little project,” said Augusto Gutierrez-Aitken, a fellow at Northrop Grumman. “The big difference here is that California DREAMS has already established all that collaboration infrastructure to begin with.”

Open for business

With its operations model in place, MOSIS 2.0 began accepting external customers in summer 2024 and launched its storefront in October. The program serves Department of Defense, academic, and industry clients, tailoring its service to their needs.

When a customer submits their project requirements, they are matched with a dedicated MOSIS 2.0 engineer to guide them through the development process. Simple fabrication runs follow a streamlined path, while complex prototyping projects receive customized support from experts within MOSIS 2.0 and its partner institutions.

Each project also contributes to a growing knowledge base, capturing intellectual property and process innovations that can be reused for future designs. "Instead of having to reinvent the wheel, customers can use something that already exists," Kapadia said.

In 2025, MOSIS 2.0 plans to scale up both its business and capabilities. The goal is ambitious: achieve self-sustainability within the next few years and generate $20 million in annual revenue. “​​We have a superb team, combined with the extensive resources within our nanofabs and fabs,” Haney said. “If we can’t do it, nobody can.”