A new crystal-growing machine in Sheffield will stack semiconductor atoms one layer at a time, creating bespoke materials for everything from internet cables to quantum computers. This matters because the UK’s semiconductor research relies on a single national facility—the National Epitaxy Facility—which has supplied custom wafers since 1979. Demand is surging, driven by government ambitions in quantum technologies and AI chips. The current equipment cannot keep pace. The new system adds two critical capabilities: machine-learning-driven feedback that adjusts crystal growth in real time, and ultra-high-vacuum connections to other UK facilities, such as the Ion Beam Centre at Surrey. This lets researchers combine techniques without exposing materials to air, which would ruin them. If successful, the system will accelerate the discovery of new compound semiconductors for solar cells, environmental sensors, and quantum devices. It directly supports the UK’s National Semiconductor Strategy and a £2.5 billion quantum programme. The facility is also designed to expand toward automated high-throughput production, helping meet national capacity needs. This is applied fundamental science—epitaxy is a precise manufacturing technique, not a speculative exploration—but its outputs underpin the physical infrastructure of modern electronics.
View original technical description
The EPSRC National Epitaxy Facility (NEF) seeks investment in a new state-of-the-art Molecular Beam Epitaxy (MBE) Cluster System at The University of Sheffield (TUoS) to further its mission to support world-class compound semiconductor research in the UK. Epitaxy is a crystal growth technique allowing deposition of atomically thin layers of semiconductor materials. It is used to create functional devices that constitute the bedrock of modern electronics at the heart of internet communications, displays, solar cells, environmental sensors, AI chips, and quantum technologies. The new MBE equipment will provide unique epitaxial materials combinations and advanced in-situ characterisation and processing capabilities. It will include a step-change in integrated data management systems for real-time epitaxy feedback allowing, for the first time in the UK, machine learning-driven materials discovery in an advanced semiconductor epitaxy system. The system will also enable transfer of materials in an ultra-high vacuum (UHV) environment to external tools facilitating enhanced collaboration with other semiconductor R&D investments around the UK, such as the Ion Beam Centre at the University of Surrey and the extensive facilities of the Henry Royce Institute. The MBE System will be designed as a flexible platform for expansion towards future capabilities, including ongoing advances in automation processes for high throughput production of epitaxial wafers that meet current and future national capacity needs. The NEF is the largest of EPSRC’s National Research Facilities (NRFs) whose purpose is to support research communities in the UK with access to world-class infrastructure and expertise. The NEF provides the UK with bespoke epitaxial wafers, underpinning semiconductor research across a broad range of EPSRC themes – a role it has played continuously since its inception in 1979. The Facility is ISO9001-certified for Quality Management and has decades of research excellence resulting in internationally-leading publications and pioneering research impacts; including technology transfer to industry and support for new start-up companies in the sector. The NEF was cited in the recently published National Semiconductor Strategy as a key element of semiconductor research in the UK. Moreover, the RAEng Quantum Infrastructure Review - commissioned by the Department for Science Innovation and Technology (DSIT) to inform the £2.5bn National Quantum Strategy Programme over the next 10 years - specifically calls for increased investment in existing national epitaxy capability to enable higher-volume production and support growth of this sector. Semiconductors and Quantum Technologies have been identified by the UK Science & Technology Framework as two out of five technologies critical to securing UK strategic advantage and to delivering prosperity, security, and sustainability for the Nation. The pace of innovation in semiconductor science and technologies globally presents a major challenge to the UK. This new equipment will provide unprecedented epitaxy capabilities to pioneer a new generation of compound semiconductor devices. Managed strategically through the NEF as a centre-of-excellence, it will enable UK researchers in academia and industry to play a leading role in the future of the semiconductor industry. The proposed MBE Cluster System will address the increasing demand for bespoke epitaxy research, fuelled by the UK ambition of becoming a leader in semiconductor and quantum technologies. It will ensure that the NEF can continue its 45-year history of supporting world-leading semiconductor research in the UK, accelerating new developments in line with institutional, EPSRC, and National strategic priorities.
Plain English summaries and category classifications on this site are generated by AI and may not perfectly reflect the original research.
Is something wrong? Let us know