Boise State awarded $2.7 million to establish RAVEN Center for Extreme-Environment Microelectronics

Boise State received a $2.7 million award through NextFlex, the U.S. Department of Defense's flexible hybrid electronics manufacturing institute, to establish the Center for Reconfigurable Analog van der Waals Engines for Non-von-Neumann Sensing (RAVEN). The 15-month project is conducted in partnership with the Air Force Research Laboratory and begins in Oct. 2026.

RAVEN will build the personnel, governance and instrumentation needed to take advanced two-dimensional materials from initial design through growth, device integration and qualification for use in extreme environments - the heat, radiation, vibration and particulate exposure that Air Force sensors encounter in the field.

The work targets a specific bottleneck. Advanced sensors on uncrewed aircraft generate far more data than the platform can process or transmit, and conventional computing hardware consumes power that would otherwise extend flight time or support additional sensors. Two-dimensional quantum materials offer a path toward sensors that perform computation at the point of collection, reducing both power draw and reliance on data links that may be degraded or denied.

The award builds on prior federal investment at Boise State, which operates an AIXTRON close-coupled showerhead 2D metalorganic chemical vapor deposition reactor - among the most capable university-based wafer-scale 2D synthesis tools in the world, acquired with earlier NextFlex and AFRL support. RAVEN funds the surrounding capability the reactor has lacked: advanced optical metrology including confocal Raman and second harmonic generation microscopy, advances for 2D material inks for submicron direct-write printing of sensors and advanced packaging, rheological and thermomechanical characterization and a mobile autonomous testbed for field deployment.

"Establishing the RAVEN Center at Boise State University will enhance our ability to conduct research of high relevance to the Department of War and advance in-sensor computing for the nation," said David Estrada, professor of materials science and engineering at Boise State and director of the RAVEN Center.

"We're excited to build on our longstanding collaboration with Boise State," said Dan Gamota, executive director of NextFlex. "RAVEN is an important step toward maturing microelectronics for extreme environments and advancing Boise State's research into capabilities that align with key Department of War priorities and the needs of the U.S. industrial base."

Critically, the award establishes RAVEN as a shared user facility, funding technical staff, safety and training infrastructure and a technical services model that will allow researchers from other universities, government laboratories and industry to access the capability.

Workforce development is embedded throughout. Undergraduate and graduate researchers will participate directly in equipment installation, qualification and process development - experience the defense microelectronics workforce currently lacks. Students will be recruited through established programs including the NSF Research Experiences for Undergraduates, the Ronald E. McNair Scholars Program and the NSF Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation. A Boston Dynamics Spot robot acquired as a field testbed will also support K-12 outreach across Idaho.

"Research that enables sensing systems to operate more effectively in extreme and contested environments is increasingly important to the Air Force," said Emily Heckman, principal research engineer of the Air Force Research Laboratory. "AFRL is pleased to support Boise State's RAVEN program to advance two-dimensional materials and in-sensor computing capabilities while building a skilled workforce and shared research infrastructure for the future."

The RAVEN leadership team has collaborated across three previous NextFlex Agency-Driven Projects and the NSF Industry-University Cooperative Research Center for Atomically Thin and Multifunctional Coatings, collectively managing more than $20 million in federal programs supporting advanced materials and microelectronics research at Boise State.

Award co-principal investigators also include Boise State College of Engineering Associate Professor Krishna Pakala, Research Assistant Professor Tony Varghese, Boise State College of Arts and Sciences Assistant Research Professor Joshua Eixenberger, and Director and Clinical Professor of Games, Interactive Media, and Mobile Technology (GIMM) Anthony Ellerston.

Boise State materials science and engineering staff that will support the operations and technical services of the RAVEN Center include Michael Curtis, Raquel Montenegro-Brown, Hailey Burgoyne and Allysa Bateman.

Boise State Division of Research and Economic Development award support staff include Center for Research and Creative Activity personnel and Office of Sponsored Project personnel; Senior Research Administrator, Erin Keen; Grants and Contracts Officer, Nick Vita; and Senior Supervisory Sponsored Project Administrator, Jessica Foxworthy.

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