Our vision

The Institute aims to position Cardiff as the European leader in compound semiconductor innovation.

We offer cutting-edge facilities that help researchers and industry work together to generate economic impact through commercial and academic exploitation of Compound Semiconductor Technologies.

Our mission

To provide small* to medium scale fabrication capacity to complement activity at compound semiconductor industrial and academic partners, with the expertise and capability to translate academic excellence through to practical, manufacturable devices and integrated subsystems with the ultimate aim of generating economic impact through commercial and academic exploitation of Compound Semiconductor Technologies.

*Small scale fabrication is typically a few wafer starts per week (noting that for example just one of our current 150mm wafers yields 150,000 vertical cavity surface emitting lasers, VCSELs).

Academic research

We aim to be the UK facility of choice, with European recognition, for catalysing, facilitating and enabling world-class research.

We recruit world-class academics and provide environments that foster collaborations between staff, including shared laboratory and office space, building space-breakouts, and Institute-centric seminars.

Industrial productivity

We enable high-impact compound semiconductor-based commercially relevant technology, company spin-off and product development.

We aim to achieve scientific edge and technical relevance by offering state-of-the-art products and competitive prices, technological expertise, device and system design, process development to prototyping, access to cleanroom infrastructure, and feed through to the Compound Semiconductor Catapult.

Industrial and academic engagement

We aim to become a European hub linking industry and academics. We aim to link industrial partners with top academic researchers to identify and solve mutual problems, and to develop a culture for knowledge transfer and innovation between these two groups.

Workforce training

We will become a prime source of highly skilled people for Wales and UK current and future technology companies. Our CDT students will participate in academic and industrial activities, and be trained to communicate the technical relevance of their work.