The University of Arkansas has opened MUSiC, a 22,000-square-foot Multi-User Silicon Carbide Facility in Fayetteville that the university calls the only openly accessible SiC fabrication lab of its kind in the U.S. The lab features an eight-bay cleanroom (expandable to 10) and was funded in part by the NSF Mid-Scale Research Infrastructure Program. Industry partners including Wolfspeed and GlobalFoundries toured the space; officials say MUSiC will accelerate domestic SiC research, prototype commercialization and workforce training tied to energy, automotive, aerospace and defense.
University of Arkansas Opens MUSiC: Nation’s Only Open-Access Silicon Carbide Fabrication Lab
The University of Arkansas has opened MUSiC, a 22,000-square-foot Multi-User Silicon Carbide Facility in Fayetteville that the university calls the only openly accessible SiC fabrication lab of its kind in the U.S. The lab features an eight-bay cleanroom (expandable to 10) and was funded in part by the NSF Mid-Scale Research Infrastructure Program. Industry partners including Wolfspeed and GlobalFoundries toured the space; officials say MUSiC will accelerate domestic SiC research, prototype commercialization and workforce training tied to energy, automotive, aerospace and defense.
08:14 AM, 11/17/2025Technology
University of Arkansas Launches Multi-User Silicon Carbide Facility (MUSiC)
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The University of Arkansas has opened the Multi-User Silicon Carbide Facility (MUSiC), which the university describes as the only openly accessible silicon carbide (SiC) fabrication lab of its kind in the United States. The facility is located at 2079 S. Innovation Way in Fayetteville.
The 22,000-square-foot building houses an eight-bay cleanroom (with plans to expand to 10 bays) and operates on an open-access, multi-project wafer model. The project received partial funding from the National Science Foundation’s Mid-Scale Research Infrastructure Program.
Purpose and capabilities
Silicon carbide is a durable, high-efficiency semiconductor used in components for electric vehicles, fast chargers, aircraft systems, renewable-energy installations and large data centers. MUSiC is designed to support domestic research and small-scale production of SiC devices for these sectors, providing U.S.-based design, prototyping and testing capabilities that are often outsourced overseas.
Industry alignment and partnerships
Industry representatives from Wolfspeed, GlobalFoundries, onsemi, Microchip and Texas Instruments toured the facility during its opening. Tom Johnston, senior manager at X-FAB Texas and chair of MUSiC’s advisory board, said aligning the lab with industry standards will help move prototypes toward commercial qualification.
“MUSiC is a powerful example of our land-grant mission in action,” Chancellor Charles Robinson said at the dedication, adding that the facility will provide students hands-on experiences while enabling researchers to push technical boundaries.
Workforce and research impact
MUSiC expands the university’s power-electronics research portfolio, which already involves more than $31 million in annual expenditures and partnerships across federal agencies and private industry. The facility will be used for training students and visiting researchers and offers access to fabrication, packaging and systems-testing environments to help build workforce pathways in AI, semiconductors and power electronics.
U.S. Rep. Steve Womack described the research from the facility as “foundational to our economic strength and national security,” while Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin said the state is positioning itself as a center of excellence for semiconductor manufacturing.
Open to academic, government and industry partners, MUSiC is framed by the university as part of a broader effort to strengthen U.S. semiconductor capabilities in areas tied to energy, automotive, aerospace and defense.