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Lab to fab is the work of translating laboratory research into technology that can be prototyped, developed, and ultimately manufactured in a semiconductor fabrication plant, or fab. It describes a technology-transfer challenge—not one standardized production step or a single route every project follows.
What “lab” and “fab” mean
In this phrase, “lab” generally means a small-scale research setting, such as a university laboratory. “Fab” means a semiconductor manufacturing plant. The distinction is about more than location: a promising research result must be adapted and demonstrated in ways that make sense beyond its original experimental setting.
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In an April 19, 2022 briefing, Stanford electrical engineering professor H. S. Philip Wong described “lab-to-fab translation” as moving laboratory innovations into manufacturable products. The U.S. Department of Defense likewise uses the phrase for an intermediate stage between a researcher’s concept and a manufacturer’s commitment. State Department briefing; Department of Defense Manufacturing Technology Program.
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The central question is whether a research result can be turned into a process or product that manufacturing organizations can evaluate for reliable, useful production. Prototyping can help demonstrate technical and market potential, but the precise work depends on the technology and the manufacturing route being considered.
- Developing the process: adapt or develop processes for the target materials, devices, or packaging work.
- Prototyping or piloting: make and assess examples in facilities suited to early-stage development or pilot production.
- Assessing manufacturability: consider whether outputs can integrate with further industrial processes, as well as cost and resource needs.
- Considering sustainability where relevant: environmental sustainability can be part of semiconductor-materials research and development, not just a separate issue after technical work is complete.
These are considerations, not a mandatory sequence. A project may need different capabilities, expertise, and evidence depending on its technical focus.
Where lab-to-fab work can happen
There is no single facility type or universal pathway established for lab-to-fab translation. Possible supports include semiconductor prototyping facilities, foundries, pilot facilities, chip-design tools, and process-development or pilot-production services. For example, Fraunhofer IPMS describes a service range from consulting and process development to pilot production; the UK’s 2023 National Semiconductor Strategy identifies prototyping and piloting facilities, chip-design tools, and access to intellectual property as infrastructure that could help facilitate the journey from lab to fab. Fraunhofer IPMS; UK National Semiconductor Strategy.
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In January 2025, the U.S. Department of Commerce announced Arizona State University Research Park as the planned site for a third CHIPS for America R&D flagship facility intended to bridge laboratory research and full-scale semiconductor production. The announcement described a plan, not confirmation that the facility is now operational. Department of Commerce announcement.
How to evaluate a possible route
When comparing facilities or services, match their capabilities to the project rather than assuming every option can support the same work.
- Access and eligibility: identify who can use the facility and under what conditions.
- Technical fit: check whether it supports the materials, devices, processes, or packaging under development.
- Development scale: establish whether it offers the prototyping, process-development, or pilot-production capability the project needs.
- Industrial compatibility: ask how the work can connect to subsequent manufacturing processes.
- Resources and sustainability: account for cost and other resource requirements, and include environmental sustainability when relevant.
Provider-specific eligibility, prices, and performance cannot be inferred from the general term “lab to fab”; they need to be checked for the particular service and project.
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What the phrase does not mean
- It is not a single, formally standardized manufacturing step.
- It does not guarantee that a research result will scale successfully or reach commercial production.
- It does not prescribe one universal sequence of facilities or development milestones.
- It should not be confused with a measure of overall chip-fabrication capacity. For example, NIST stated that the United States had 3% of global semiconductor packaging capability as of 2021; that dated figure concerns packaging, not overall chip fabrication capacity, and is not a current 2026 share. NIST speech.
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