Compound Semiconductor Manufacturing Hub for a Sustainable Future
Funder: EPSRC
Lead partner: University of Cardiff
Other partners: University of Manchester, University of Sheffield, University of Cambridge
Lead academic: Huiyun Liu
Project amount: £2,069,581
Research themes: Semiconductors
Project period: 1 July 2024 - 30 June 2031
Project description: Our vision is to establish the UK as the primary global research and manufacturing hub for Compound Semiconductor (CS) Technologies, expanding and extending the CS Cluster that our previous EPSRC Manufacturing Hub initiated. The CS Cluster in South Wales currently contributes more than £300M in GVA to the Welsh Economy and provides more than 2,600 high-value jobs in the region. This figure is set to increase to 5,000 jobs over the next five years through a combination of attracting new start-ups and inward investment, and this requires a vital research base and a high level of skills.
The CS Hub will provide these and create and expand wide excellence and impact in CS by a) delivering a scientific leading CS and b) combining and connecting research excellence in CS from across the UK with the best translational facilities. The hub will work with companies and centres of excellence throughout the UK to support the whole UK CS industry and industry users of CS. The combined activity will provide a path from enabling fundamental research through wafer, device and integrated chip manufacturing research into prototyping, reliability testing and system qualification at the CS Catapult and partner companies; to create the most innovative products and the most sustainable manufacturing processes.
CSs are a Key Enabling Technology at the heart of modern society, transforming energy usage e.g. LED lighting and power electronics for electric vehicles. They are core to the development of, for example, the 6G network, sensors for autonomous vehicles, the Internet of Things (IoT), satellite communications, implementation of quantum technologies and new imaging techniques. Simply put, these technologies enable our connected world, our health, and our security and protect the environment. As recognised by the UK Government, the time is right for a step-change in CS manufacturing to extend the lead of our UK manufacturing base. The UK is uniquely positioned to play a key global role within several essential CS supply chains including communications, mobility, net-zero, quantum and sensing applications. Individual grants might focus on one of these but there are tremendous advantages in solving common problems and developing common platforms for all these applications in a holistic and strategic manner.
In some topic areas there are a number of early-stage, potentially disruptive approaches and the scale of the Hub allows us to carry out research on these contenders, and swiftly and efficiently narrow focus, as it becomes obvious which can’t and which can succeed as manufacturable technologies. Our sustainable CS Hub will deliver 4 interdependent objectives (the scale of these and their interdependency makes the Hub essential)They map to WPs 1-4:1) Scaling manufacturing process, increasing wafer size and yield across different materials (e.g. III-As, -N, -P) and for different device types, to deliver cost-effective, pervasive technologies; 2) Ensuring the UK’s research strength in CS will be embedded in manufacturable and resource efficient approaches so that the UK can access the vast new opportunities that CSs provide; 3) Repatriating and connecting UK based CS manufacturing supply chains to re-shore production and facilitate innovation, enabling holistic solutions and changing researchers approach to maximise the impact of their research; 4) Innovating with integrated functionality and integrated materials using the best combinations of materials for exciting, new, functional solutions.
