News: Suppliers
17 August 2023
Wolfson grant to boost Swansea University’s Centre for Integrative Semiconductor Materials
Swansea University in south Wales, UK has received a grant from the Wolfson Foundation (an independent charity with a focus on research and education) that will provide a boost to its Centre for Integrative Semiconductor Materials (CISM).
The £500,000 award will support the design, procurement and deployment of a unique ‘cluster instrument’ the Advanced Semiconductor Wafer Analytical Capability (ASemi-WAC), which will be housed at CISM and be part of a project to create a nationally significant Semiconductor Analytical Suite (SAS) for use by researchers and industrial partners.
It is reckoned that this will grow the university’s capability in the provision of semiconductor expertise and deliver a dramatic expansion in research breadth, depth and excellence, with a particular focus on semiconductor technology for enabling Net Zero, and also for emerging applications of semiconductor devices in healthcare.
“Swansea University has a nationally significant and internationally recognised critical mass in semiconductor research and innovation which is fuelled by the emergence and rapid growth of our regional semiconductor industry,” says CISM’s director professor Paul Meredith. “The award for our ASemi-WAC proposal is vitally important as it will support us in playing a major part in the much-heralded UK Semiconductor Strategy as part of the CSconnected Cluster of partners,” he adds.
“The UK needs to invest urgently in semiconductor technologies as their importance to industries as varied as healthcare and energy becomes ever more evident,” says the Wolfson Foundation’s chief executive Paul Ramsbottom. “The ASemi-WAC project at Swansea can play an exciting role in this R&D effort, and we are delighted to be supporting it - and to be funding in Swansea again,” he adds.
“Semiconductor science and engineering has long been an area of research excellence at Swansea University,” states professor Paul Boyle, vice-chancellor of Swansea University. “This award from the Wolfson Foundation will enable us to build upon our existing strengths and deliver the world-class innovation which is urgently required in this field, and which is vital for economic growth, job opportunities and the advancement of energy science in south Wales and the UK.”
UK unveils National Semiconductor Strategy, with £1bn government funding
www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-semiconductor-strategy
www.swansea.ac.uk/campus-development/developing-bay/key-projects-bay/cism
