The UK semiconductor industry is currently valued at approximately £10 billion annually, with projections estimating growth to £17 billion by 2030. The addition of this equipment marks a pivotal step for C-PIC and the CORNERSTONE foundry and will help to foster the development of high-precision SiPh and enable a faster transition from research into scalable, market-ready solutions.
The new facility was officially opened by the UK's Science Minister, Lord Vallance, during a visit to the University of Southampton.
“Britain is home to some of the most exciting semiconductor research anywhere in the world – and Southampton’s new E-beam facility is a major boost to our national capabilities,” said Lord Vallance. “By investing in both infrastructure and talent, we’re giving our researchers and innovators the support they need to develop next-generation chips right here in the UK.”
Lord Vallance also outlined wider UK investment designed to accelerate technological innovation.
“Our £4.75 million skills package will support our Plan for Change by helping more young people into high-value semiconductors careers, closing skills gaps and backing growth in this critical sector.”
Commenting Professor Graham Reed, Director of the Optoelectronics Research Centre and CORNERSTONE, said, “The introduction of the new E-beam facility will reinforce our position of hosting the most advanced cleanroom in UK academia. It facilitates a vast array of innovative and industrially relevant research, and much-needed semiconductor skills training.”
The new equipment from JEOL – a provider of scientific and metrology instruments - includes several state-of-the-art systems, some of which are the first installations outside Japan. Included are the JEOL JBX-8100FS 200kV and the JEOL JBX-A9 100kV e-beam lithographic systems as well as the JOEL IT-800i Schottky Field Emission (SEM) that is optimised for characterising semiconductor related processes.
E-beam lithography is essential for fabricating nanoscale photonic and electronic components that power next-generation applications. The newly installed JBX-8100FS 200 kV equipment offers high-resolution and high-throughput exposure modes, facilitating diverse patterning applications and ultrafine processing for small- to medium-scale production.
These are landmark additions and will enable ultra-high-resolution patterning critical for pushing the frontiers of SiPh device development. The enhanced performance offered by the new JEOL systems will allow the CORNERSTONE foundry to more closely emulate manufacturing operations seen in high-volume SiPh fabrication facilities helping to remove challenges that can occur when scaling SiPh designs.
The installation reinforces C-PIC’s strategic mission to accelerate the commercialisation of SiPh technologies by enabling researchers and industry alike with access to world-class nanofabrication resources in an open-access setting.
