During a gala ceremony at the Marriott Hotel in Cardiff, Wales (organized by UK business publisher Insider Media Ltd), the Economic Impact title at the 2017 Business and Education Partnerships Awards has been presented to Cardiff-based epiwafer foundry and substrate maker IQE plc and Cardiff University, in recognition of their close work to achieve a key milestones in developing an advanced manufacturing capability with the vision of establishing the world’s first Compound Semiconductor Cluster in Wales.
IQE and Cardiff University have established the Compound Semiconductor Centre (CSC), a 50/50 ‘for profit’ enterprise for product, services and skills development in compound semiconductor technologies. Based in Cardiff, CSC provides facilities to help researchers and industry work together, aiming to position Cardiff as the UK and European leader in compound semiconductor technology.
Also at the same awards ceremony, professor Peter Smowton, director of EPSRC Future Manufacturing Hub in Compound Semiconductors, won the title of Individual Impact. Smowton has been actively driving the creation of the Hub, which aims to provide Europe-leading capability that will translate research into large-scale compound semiconductor growth and device fabrication. Cardiff University leads the Hub with three key academic partners: UCL (University College London), the University of Manchester, and the University of Sheffield.
The EPSRC Manufacturing Hub in Future Compound Semiconductors and CSC work closely together for compound semiconductor manufacturing and applications development in Wales and have been key elements to drive the establishment of the Compound Semiconductor Cluster.