As high-performance computing and AI data centers expand at an unprecedented rate, traditional silicon-based architectures are rapidly approaching their physical limits. The industry is facing a serious “latency wall” characterized by data transfer bottlenecks, severe thermal management challenges, and a process limitation on 3D integration.

To tackle these challenges, Assistant Professor Daniel Rhodes from the University of Wisconsin-Madison Department of Materials Science & Engineering was awarded a National Science Foundation (NSF) Innovation Corps (I-Corps) grant, which began in February, 2026. With Ph.D. candidate, Yangchen He, as Entrepreneurial Lead, their team, Pristine Quantum, investigated the complex research and development challenges and industrial adoption barriers of novel 2D semiconductor thin films for next-generation logic and memory architecture.

The Material Bottleneck

Semiconducting transition metal dichalcogenides (s-TMDs) are widely recognized as promising materials for next-generation electronics, holding immense potential for semiconductor chip manufacturing.

However, current research and development efforts as well as the adoption by industry is stalled by a major bottleneck: producing scalable 2D semiconductors with low defect rates. Device-level research relies heavily on bulk single-crystals. While Prof. Rhodes’ pioneering high-quality crystal growth process solves the quality bottleneck, the traditional 2D layer extraction process gives inconsistent results, making device prototyping and integration inefficient. Conversely, the industry-leading approach, Metal-Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition (MOCVD), yields atomically thin films but suffers from high defect densities that severely limit electronic device performance and interfere with quantum phenomena.

Rhodes’ group demonstrated a proprietary, low-pressure synthesis process to bridge this gap. Their breakthrough method reduces defect density to just 1/1000 of current MOCVD films and demonstrates and increase in carrier mobility of over 1000%, a fundamental metric for evaluating high-performance electronic materials and device specifications.

Furthermore, they developed a prototype for an etchant-free “disassembly-and-print” process. This method transforms high-quality bulk crystals into 2D layers, providing ready-to-use pristine building blocks for device prototyping and paving the way for integrating 2D materials into other processes.

From Lab to Fab: Navigating the Value Chain

The NSF I-Corps National award provided $50,000 over 1 year to support customer discovery activities. As part of the program, the team was required to conduct a minimum of 100 customer discovery interviews and participate in weekly cohort meetings and coaching sessions with NSF.

Through the NSF I-Corps program, the team worked with industry collaborators to map the pain points of the market within the semiconductor ecosystem. This process provided an invaluable look at the rigorous qualification cycles and deep complexities of the semiconductor supply chain.

“Scientifically, materials with ultra-low impurities provide the foundation for high performance,” explains Entrepreneurial Lead Yangchen He. “But as we step out of the lab, we become aware that we are upstream of a highly complex value chain. Pushing these scientific triumphs into the real world means surviving the realities of that chain. The final product requires a seamless combination of material innovation, process integration, and clear value driven by real market forces.”

To understand the value chain and the ecosystem, the team traveled to Phoenix, Arizona, a rapidly growing hub for US semiconductor manufacturing, to engage directly with industry professionals and map out realistic customer relationships within a corporate context.

Rather than targeting immediate mass production, Pristine Quantum’s roadmap reflects a pragmatic, step-by-step approach that begins with university research and moves into corporate R&D. The goal is to secure early adoption and systematically prove the technology’s value and ultimately expanding toward advanced tooling and high-volume manufacturing.

In March, Pristing Quantum wrapped up the I-Corps program and filed a patent on the technology through WARF. 

A Successful First Phase

The team entered I-Corps to answer one core question: Who is the real customer and what is their need for ultra-high-quality 2D semiconductor materials, including but not limited to the academia? Specifically, they wanted to validate whether their high-quality synthesis and thin-film forming technology could address pain points in both the research community as well as the pathfinding teams in the semiconductor industry. They also wanted to determine whether customers would actually pay for it.

Next Steps

Based on the technology development and commercial understanding gained through I-Corps customer discovery, Rhodes has been awarded the Ignite Grant Program for Applied Research Award for 2026-27. This grant will support continued technical development of the product. The team will improve the size and quality of their single crystal as product and provide a pristine 2D material film for their beachhead market customers who are working on device-level research. At the same time, the team is engaging with WARF’s accelerator program to enhance technology readiness and develop an IP portfolio for future technology transfer.

Commercially, the team has incorporated Pristine Quantum, Inc. as the vehicle to bring these technologies to market. The company will pursue NSF SBIR/STTR funding and partner with the Rhodes Lab to support pilot production and scale-up the process.

Meet the Pristine Quantum Team

• Dr. Daniel Rhodes (Technical Lead): Assistant Professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering. Dr. Rhodes is a world leader in s-TMD single-crystal synthesis and the pioneer of the lowest defect density s-TMDs. He is an NSF CAREER and PECASE awardee with over 100 publications and 12,000+ citations.
• Yangchen He (Entrepreneurial Lead): Ph.D. Candidate in MS&E. He has over 7 years of expertise in electronic device research, combined with a strong background in deep-tech commercialization, spanning technology transfer, market analysis, and venture capital due diligence.
• Dr. Ronald Kelley (Industry Mentor): An experienced innovation consultant and National I-Corps core instructor for the Great Lakes Hub. With a Ph.D. in physics, Dr. Kelley has founded and led multiple technology startups spanning advanced materials, fuel cells, and AI-enabled learning.