(IDG) -- The U.S. semiconductor industry and the federal government have formed a microelectronics Focus Center Research Program that aims to keep the industry from falling short of its historical improvements in chip performance.

The Focus Center Research Program is negotiating with university consortia, led by the University of California at Berkeley and the Georgia Institute of Technology, over multimillion-dollar research and development contracts that will study new methodologies in designing, testing, and connecting microchip components.

If the first two centers are successful, the industry plans to establish four additional focus centers nationwide. Funds for the focus centers and participating universities will provide salaries for students and faculty, along with equipment and upgraded facilities.

The program is the most ambitious research project the U.S. semiconductor industry has undertaken since 1987, when it formed Sematech, a consortium of U.S. chip manufacturers created to establish U.S. leadership in manufacturing and process technology.

"The semiconductor industry faces many technical challenges that need to be addressed if we are to maintain the rate of progress that has been the hallmark of our industry," said Craig Barrett, president and chief executive officer of Intel and head of the Semiconductor Industry Association's Technology Strategy Committee. "The Focus Center Program is designed to create a nationwide multiuniversity network of research centers that will help keep the United States and U.S. semiconductor firms at the front of the global microelectronics revolution."

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Funding for the future research awards will come from member companies of the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA); Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International/Sematech, a U.S.-only organization; and the Department of Defense, represented by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).

A new subsidiary of the Semiconductor Research Corp. (SRC), the Microelectronics Advanced Research Corp. (MARCO) will manage the Focus Center Research Program on behalf of industry program participants. Researchers at the focus centers will generate ideas for technology solutions. The government and member companies of the SRC, Sematech, SEMI/Sematech, and SIA will then bring the appropriate ideas to commercialization.

"Increasingly, new processes and technologies are coming to semiconductor manufacturers through their suppliers," said Paul S. Peercy, president of SEMI/SEMATECH. "The program gives the U.S. suppliers the opportunity to interact closely with leading U.S. research universities to develop advanced technologies."