£2m Equipment Award For Hub

A Cardiff University hub for Compound Semiconductor technologies has been awarded £2m for state-of-the-art equipment that will help develop 21st Century technologies. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

The funding from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) adds to a £10m award from the same organisation last December which established the EPSRC Manufacturing Hub in Compound Semiconductors. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Professor Peter Smowton, Hub Director, said: “This timely award will help us buy equipment that will help us translate research into large-scale CS growth and device fabrication.” ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

The Award also builds on a recent £13m award from the European Union to help build, equip and run a state-of-the-art cleanroom at Cardiff’s Institute for Compound Semiconductors. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

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Professor Smowton said the latest £2m EPSRC equipment award will allow the Hub to characterise and develop novel combinations of Compound Semiconductors to develop technology that enables emerging trends, such as self-drive vehicles and 5G communications. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

The EPSRC Manufacturing Hub in Future Compound Semiconductors will work closely with the Compound Semiconductor Centre (CSC) – a partnership between Cardiff and global advanced semiconductor wafer manufacturer IQE. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

The Hub now has a number of funded PhD positions working on Compound Semiconductor technology in collaboration with world-leading companies, and two new MSc courses in Compound Semiconductors which start in October. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​