Semiconductor research at The University of Manchester

The National Graphene Institute’s (NGI) unique facilities include 1500m2 of ISO class 5 and 6 cleanrooms, providing researchers with the capability to work with 150 different types of 2D materials and fabricate nanodevices. It is recognised globally for driving novel advanced materials device discovery. Cleanrooms are an essential facility when developing nanoscale technologies, to ensure reproducibility, reduction of devices defects. The NGI contains many unique and internally world-class device assembly capabilities specifically designed for 2D Materials device fabrication, and the ability to work with industry including wafer capability to test at some scale. Its cleanrooms have also been built to be highly adaptable for future fabrication needs. This enables it to adapt to adopt equipment, funded by government or through industry collaboration, that will allow it translate prototypes and test to a scale that can be applicable to industry. The extension of this capability would enable the UK to undertake higher TRL activity on one single site, accelerating discovery and innovation of the sector. 

The Photon Science Institute (PSI) is a multidisciplinary centre at the UoM providing comprehensive photonic characterisation spanning the x-ray to THz spectral region down femtosecond timescales, low-temperatures (~1K) and high magnetic field (7T). The PSI blends the research activities of physicists, chemists, materials scientists and engineers studying areas from light-matter interactions through to materials deposition, characterisation and photonic device fabrication and measurement. It is a central contribution to the UK Henry Royce Institute at the UoM and houses the world-leading EPSRC Henry Moseley X-ray Imaging Facility and the Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) Spectroscopy facility, National X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) Facilities, comprehensive secondary ion mass spectroscopy facilities, and the joint UoM-NPL cryogenic scanning near-field UV-THz microscopy facility. 

The proximity of the NGI and PSI offering is unique, globally and attracts a high concentration of specialists academics and industry applications engineers to work in this research and development environment. This is supported by the surrounding internally-leading advanced materials characterisation including high-resolution electron microscopy. Together this forms the heart of our Centre for Quantum Science & Engineering. 

The Graphene Engineering Innovation Centre (GEIC) compliments the NGI/PSI ecosystem by offering scale up support. Work in the facility encompasses a broad range of application areas including optoelectronic devices, composites, coatings, energy, membranes & coatings and Thin Film Deposition labs, with over £1 million investment in equipment in GEIC, including a roll-to-roll growth system for continuous production and a metal-organic CVD system (MOCVD) capable of 2D materials growth on a 4-inch wafers. 

To discuss semicoductor research, talk about potential collaboration, or to access facilities contact us here.