Specialised Training in Semiconductor Skills

Cardiff University was pleased to work with Semtech Corp (Bristol) to deliver training in practical cleanroom skills for Semtech’s Product Engineers.

This was delivered as part of an initiative to support semiconductor skills across the South Wales and South West region.

Globally, a lack of skilled workers remains the No. 1 risk for the industry, and the UK is no exception; skill gaps are hindering growth and development. The South Wales Compound Semiconductor Place-based Impact Acceleration Account (SWCS PBIAA) is committed to supporting semiconductor skills development by organising and funding relevant training.

This course, for Semtech, is one of the first skills activities delivered under the SWCS PBIAA project. It was a week-long intensive training programme designed, developed, and delivered by Cardiff’s Institute for Compound Semiconductors (ICS).

Semtech (Bristol) currently outsources the fabrication of their semiconductor chip designs overseas; however, they remain responsible for the functionality of the devices they create throughout the entire product life cycle.

It was therefore identified that a greater theoretical and practical knowledge of the fabrication steps involved in manufacturing a designed chip would be beneficial for their Product Engineers.

The course - Practical Cleanroom Training: An Introduction to Wafer Foundry and Physical Integrated Circuit (IC) Development - was developed by Prof. Khaled Elgaid and Dr. Abdalla Eblabla. and delivered at Cardiff University’s Queen’s Training Cleanroom, combining theoretical instruction with practical workshops to develop essential skills for working in semiconductor cleanroom environments.

Semtech’s Product Engineers acquired comprehensive knowledge in semiconductor design and nanofabrication, along with experience of the advanced technologies used for high-frequency, high-power electronics in contemporary applications. They developed knowledge of a variety of fabrication techniques, including:

• Wafer preparation
• Optical lithography
• Metal deposition
• Wet and plasma etching
• Wire bonding

These skills will be instrumental in fabricating essential semiconductor devices such as high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs), Schottky barrier diodes (SBDs), and process control monitoring (PCMs), all of which are vital components in numerous circuits such as power amplifiers, low-noise amplifiers, oscillators, detectors, and frequency multipliers.

Semtech delegate testimonial