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Our research on semiconductor materials and devices has led to the establishment by e2v Technologies of a combined manufacturing, research and development facility within the School of Physics and Astronomy. We have adapted and transferred device simulation software to e2v, and have provided epitaxially-grown semiconductors and access to fabrication facilities which have been used in their manufacturing processes. Devices fabricated within the facility, which was opened in 2011, have generated sales of £7M for e2v. This initiative has also led to shifts in the investment priorities of e2v, and mitigated risks to the company arising from import restrictions associated with the US International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR).
Research on vapour growth of semiconductor compounds led to a key breakthrough in growing large crystals which form the basis for sensitive X-and gamma-ray detectors. The process was commercialised by a Durham University spin-out company, Kromek Ltd., which floated on AIM at £55M and has over 100 employees in the UK and USA. The X-ray detectors are in use in Kromek's security systems for screening liquids at airports, significantly reducing restrictions on duty free goods. This application won the $400,000 international prize in the 2009 Global Security Challenge. The company also markets gamma-ray detectors for nuclear isotope identification. These have won contracts totalling $7.5M from the US Defense Threat Reduction Agency and are in use at Fukushima.
The commercialisation of Quantum Cascade Lasers (QCL) and the associated novel fabrication processes developed at the University of Glasgow has provided Compound Semiconductor Technologies Global Ltd (CSTG) with a new foundry product supplying quantum cascade lasers for gas sensing, safety and security, and military applications. This resulted in 40% turnover growth from 2010-2012 and the company is now recognised as a global leader in QCLs and their fabrication. Based on University of Glasgow research, the company has created a manufacturing toolbox for the production of a wide variety of QCL chip designs. CSTG has also achieved a world first, manufacturing QCLs for systems that detect explosives at a safe distance and can counter heat-seeking missile attacks on aircraft.
This University of Manchester research underpins UK industry's global position in millimetre- wave imaging and ultra-high-precision sensing. These are key technologies in a range of industrial, medical and consumer electronics applications. The devices and methods developed by the research team are now used by a range of companies leading to economic impacts for the UK in strong export markets. In this case study we provide examples of impacts that support commercial sales in excess of £300m by UK SME and FTSE-listed companies in three sectors: automotive radar (e2v), terahertz imaging (TeraView), and linear encoders (Renishaw PLC).
Raman thermography, a new technique for measuring channel temperature in semiconductor electronic devices developed at the University of Bristol, has been used by many companies to characterise their semiconductor devices. The technology has enabled companies to develop more robust, reliable, higher performing devices and circuits for high-end space, radar, communication and power conversion applications. This is illustrated here in detail on the example of the company, United Monolithic Semiconductor (UMS) (Germany-France), which used the technique to improve the lifetime of its Gallium Nitride (GaN) and Gallium Arsenide (GaAs) semiconductor devices so that they meet customer requirements for product qualification. Corresponding impact resulted for the companies TriQuint (USA), Northrup Grumman (USA), QinetiQ (UK), Selex Galileo (UK & Italy), NXP (UK & Netherlands), Thales Alenia Spaciale (France), Sharp (Japan) and Hitachi Cable (Japan).
Research on the growth of gallium nitride (GaN) light-emitting diode (LED) structures has led to the creation of two spin-out businesses (subsequently sold), has assisted Forge Europa Ltd in expanding its sales of LED-lighting products, has helped AIXTRON to achieve sales of related GaN-growth equipment [text removed for publication], & has enabled Plessey Semiconductors Ltd to manufacture the world's first commercially available LEDs on 6-inch Si (& the first LEDs to be manufactured in the UK).
University of Cambridge research led to the creation of spin-out company, Cavendish Kinetics which developed a micro electro mechanical (MEMS) process technology that allows MEMS devices to be fabricated in a standard silicon foundry. The company is now producing RF MEMS technology for mobile phone applications allowing faster data transfer and lower power consumption. It initially developed a non-volatile memory product for harsh environments. The company has provided more than 350 person years of highly skilled employment (of which 140 person years are within the period) at offices in the US, UK, the Netherlands, and Korea. It has developed a large patent portfolio and raised tens of millions of US dollars in VC funding.
Research in the Microelectronics Group of the Cavendish Laboratory in the area of single-electron nanoelectronics, quantum computing and spintronics has been exploited by Hitachi, one of world's leading microelectronics companies. Research breakthroughs made in the Cavendish have defined Hitachi's R&D directions in quantum computing and spintronics, led to several Hitachi product developments and influenced senior Hitachi strategic decision makers regarding the future of computing.
Imperial researchers in Prof Paul French's photonics group demonstrated one of the first practical FLIM instruments in 1997 using a prototype gated optical intensifier (GOI) developed by Kentech Instruments Ltd and a home-built solid-state ultrafast laser. They subsequently pioneered the use of ultrafast supercontinuum sources (USS) for FLIM. Today wide-field time-gated FLIM is a commercial success and is being widely applied for biomedicine, including for imaging of diseased tissue [e.g. 5] and for FRET (Fluorescence resonance energy transfer) microscopy to assay protein interactions [e.g. 3, 4]. This research thus helped translate FLIM to a wider community, highlighting the potential for tissue imaging, cell biology and drug discovery. It stimulated about £5M of GOI sales for Kentech [section 5, source A], with whom they developed time-gated FLIM technology and applications, and millions of pounds worth of sales of supercontinuum sources for Fianium Ltd [B].
Medipix-based detectors are the best pixelated X-ray detectors available on the market and are commercialised by PANalytical under the brand name PIXcel. At the core of PIXcel is the Medipix2 chip, which was developed around a photon counting breakthrough conceived by the Medipix collaboration and is unique in its adaptability, high spatial resolution, high dynamic range and low noise. This product is the direct result of an exclusive license and a collaboration agreement between PANalytical and the Medipix collaboration, coordinated by CERN and comprising a further sixteen leading physics research institutes in Europe. The University of Glasgow is the only UK institution to be one of the four founding members of the Medipix1 collaboration.