The new E-beam lithography facility, located at the University of Southampton, is the first in Europe and only the second in the world. It uses focused beams of electrons to create patterns in materials with unrivalled resolution, allowing researchers to create features thousands of times smaller than a human hair.
The site opening coincided with the UK government's announcement to invest £4.75 million in building out skills to grow the country’s semiconductor sector.
Lord Patrick Vallance, the UK’s Science Minister, said: “Britain is home to some of the most exciting semiconductor research anywhere in the world, and Southampton’s new E-beam facility is a major boost to our national capabilities.
“By investing in both infrastructure and talent, we’re giving our researchers and innovators the support they need to develop next-generation chips right here in the UK.”
In the wake of the COVID pandemic and the subsequent chip shortage, nations around the world have made strides to shore up their semiconductor supply chains.
The UK is no different, with the previous Tory government unveiling a National Semiconductor Strategy that planned to inject up to £1 billion of government investment into growing the nation’s chip market.
Lord Vallance and the ruling Labour Party look to continue growing the UK’s chip sector, investing in skills and infrastructure, expanding R&D support, and focusing on coordinated regional development to bring production to underserved areas of the country.
The latest skills package is designed to build the country’s talent base, supporting facilities like the one at the University of Southampton to support the training of the next generation of talent.
“Our £4.75 million skills package will support our Plan for Change by helping more young people into high-value semiconductors careers, closing skills gaps and backing growth in this critical sector,” Lord Vallance said.
The package includes £3 million for undergraduate bursaries, offering £5,000 each to 300 students starting Electronics and Electrical Engineering degrees this year, alongside specialist semiconductor content to raise awareness of the field, with a focus on courses that include semiconductor design and manufacturing.
A further £1.2 million will be used for chip design training, with new chip design courses to teach practical chip design skills to undergraduates, postgraduates, and lecturers, as well as a feasibility study for new postgraduate conversion courses.
Almost £550,000 will be used for school outreach, giving 7,000 students aged 15–18 and 450 teachers hands-on semiconductor experience in partnership with local employers, helping raise awareness and diversify the future workforce.
“The introduction of the new E-Beam facility will reinforce our position of hosting the most advanced cleanroom in UK academia,” said University of Southampton Professor Graham Reed, who leads its Optoelectronics Research Centre (ORC). “It facilitates a vast array of innovative and industrially relevant research, and much-needed semiconductor skills training.”
Phillip Kaye, co-founder and director of data centre design specialists Vespertec, said the investment was a “breath of fresh air” for the UK’s semiconductor manufacturing space.
“The UK has played a vital role in semiconductor research for decades, and this Southampton-based project will help bring the manufacturing capabilities to match it. The electron beam facility is a crucial step, but the support for bursaries and chip design courses to unlock our strong existing talent pool is every bit as important.
“I hope to see projects like this emerging across the UK,” Kaye added. “Our universities are already world-class, and today’s news is a welcome model for proper planning, partnerships with businesses, and support from the government.
“If we go on like this, the country can nurture our digital infrastructure industries, ensure we reap the full benefits of the AI revolution, and protect enterprises from global shocks to tech supply chains.”
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