New process established
A new hybrid electron beam lithography approach to wafer scale up of 150 mm InP ridge lasers is developed by the ICS and published in the IEEE Transactions on Semiconductor Manufacturing 38(4), pp. 783-789, 2025 : https://doi.org/10.1109/tsm.2025.3601735
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90% of the equipment is commissioned, qualified and running
The cleanroom has achieved a state of ‘Business as Usual’, with a variety of users accessing the cleanroom to perform their research and development on the platform we provide.
We host “UK Lithography Day” at the TRH with over 80 attendees.
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Official opening of the TRH building
The focus is on the hook-up of the new equipment, and transfer of existing equipment from the Queen’s building.
We receive a number of visits – including the Rt Hon Chloe Smith, UK Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology who visits the ICS on the day the government announces its semiconductor strategy.
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The new cleanroom is handed over to Cardiff University
For the remainder of the year, we receive and install new
8” capable equipment, all the while maintaining a
service from our Queen’s cleanroom.
A visit by Sir Andrew Mackenzie, Chair of UKRI.
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Visit by Dame Ottoline Leyser, CEO UKRI
After an interrupted 2020, this year there was a
focus on process development, moving on to fast
fabrication for rapid feedback of material
characterisation.
A major campaign of procurement to select and
order new 8” capable equipment for delivery
direct to TRH is also undertaken.
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COVID-19 pandemic causes closure of the cleanroom to all users
It re-opened to staff only on July 10th. A staged increase in capacity from 3rd August, in line with guidance, permitted a limited number of users to begin using the cleanroom again. Although a difficult year ended with success, the ICS team demonstrating their ability to process multiple 6” compound semiconductor wafers on specification and on time. The batch consisted of five top-side emitting VCSEL wafers, all designed to emit at 940nm.
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Our first 6” (150mm) capable equipment is delivered and installed at Queen’s
Meanwhile the tender for the construction contract of the TRH is published in August 2017, submissions are received December 2017.
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The ICS occupies an existing cleanroom in the Queen’s buildings of the School of Physics and Astronomy
It also secures its first funding in 2016. Procurement of some 6” capable equipment begins, as does an upgrade to some of the services in the Queen’s cleanroom. A major task is the scoping and specification of equipment to go into the new, yet to be built, cleanroom at the TRH.
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Cardiff University Council formally approves the establishment of a “Research Institute for Compound Semiconductor Technology”
The accompanying business case said it aimed “to create a world class centre
of excellence for the commercial and academic exploitation of Compound
Semiconductor Technologies”. This Research Institute would build upon traditional research strengths at
Cardiff in a number of areas – photonics, optoelectronics, RF/Microwave
Devices and circuits
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