WALES AND WELSH BORDER
The CSA Catapult is part of the Cardiff Compound Semiconductor Cluster, CS Connected,3 which is centered on Cardiff University and encompasses wafer manufacturer IQE and Newport Wafer Fab. CS Connected was the first semiconductor cluster in the U.K. and the first in Europe devoted to compound semiconductors (CS). The experience with other clusters has shown that similar and complementary activities in proximity can build momentum that stimulates further activity. Investment in the area began in 2014 with the Innovation Campus at Cardiff University, continuing with the Compound Semiconductor Institute and the Compound Semiconductor Centre, a joint spin-off with IQE to seed the commercialization of CS technology. This was followed in 2016 with the CSA Catapult and the EPSRC CS Manufacturing Hub; the latter seeks to strengthen the transfer of designs into manufacturing. Cardiff’s Institute of High Frequency and Communication Engineering was initially founded in 1997 and has expertise in nonlinear measurement systems, device characterization and circuit design. A spinout from the Institute, Mesuro, was acquired by Focus Microwaves in 2015, merging their respective load-pull and modeling technologies.
Figure 3 Front (a) and rear (b) of a 256 x 256 single-chassis RF matrix built by ETL Systems.
Just across the Welsh border in Herefordshire is ETL Systems, a manufacturer of RF distribution systems and satcom equipment. In November 2021, ETL received orders of more than $830,000 from a major U.S. Government defense contractor in Colorado, which included its new HAV-80 Havoc RF matrix (see Figure 3), which was configured to 96 x 160 inputs/outputs. The orders also encompassed design and engineering to configure three of ETL’s established Hurricane HUR-10 matrices to operate alongside its L-Band combiners, part of a custom combining matrix. The three 64 × 64 combining matrix systems and one 256 × 256 distributive matrix will be housed within a single 42U chassis, achieving significant savings of rack space and maximizing efficiency. Another well-established Herefordshire microwave enterprise is Teledyne Labtech, one of several Teledyne companies located around the U.K., which specializes in the design, manufacturing and test of RF and microwave printed circuit boards for applications in defense, telecommunications, space and satcom.
SOUTH AND SOUTHWEST
RF and microwave companies to the south of London include Lime Microsystems in Guildford, which specializes in field programmable RF transceivers and software-defined radio (SDR) technology for mobile base stations. Also based in Guildford is Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd. (SSTL)—originally a spinout from the University of Surrey and now a subsidiary of Airbus—which designs and builds small satellites and payloads.
The Isle of Wight is home to broadband amplifier manufacturer Milmega and Vectrawave, which develops MMICs and multi-chip modules for defense, space and communications applications. Further to the west are two waveguide companies: Quasar Microwave Technology in Devon and Flann Microwave in Cornwall. Located in Paignton, Devon, is test manufacturer Spirent Communications. In November 2021, it announced the launch of a simulation test solution for the Galileo High Accuracy Service, a free service providing high accuracy positioning corrections through the Galileo E6-B signal, to an accuracy of less than 20 cm. Bristol is home to a cluster of wireless companies, including Blu Wireless, which uses mmWave frequencies to generate cost-effective carrier-grade wireless networks.
NORTHERN ENGLAND
Another cluster of microwave companies is situated in the north and the northeast of England, in the counties of Yorkshire and Durham. This hub of innovation is largely from the preeminence in microwave research during the late 20th century at the University of Leeds. Leeds professor John David Rhodes established Filtronic in 1977 to develop electronic components for the aviation industry, which he initially made and tested in his home garage and bedroom. The company grew rapidly and, in 2004, was said to be the most successful company ever spun out of a U.K. university.
Figure 4 Morpheus II E-Band transceiver built by Filtronic.
Today, Filtronic has a manufacturing facility in Sedgefield,4 where it specializes in E-Band mmWave transceiver modules for high capacity radio links for Xhaul and for high altitude platform systems and LEO satellite links. It also offers a custom hybrid microelectronics manufacturing service. In the past decade, Filtronic has shipped more than 63,000 transceivers, including the most recent Morpheus II (see Figure 4), with 99.9 percent exported outside the U.K. As a result, the company was recently presented with the Queen’s Award for Enterprise for International Trade 2021.5 A paper by Filtronic and co-authored by NPL entitled, “Low-Loss 140-175 GHz MMIC-to-Waveguide Transitions and MMIC-to-MMIC Interconnections,” will be presented at EuMW during EuMC.
Many other companies have grown up in the area, mostly with roots connected to either Leeds University or Filtronic. At least four such companies are located in Shipley, Yorkshire, including Radio Design, which manufactures tower mount amplifiers, combiners and interference mitigation filters for sub-6 GHz wireless communications. A second is Slipstream Design, which specializes in designing PAs, transponders and low noise amplifiers with high speed digital electronics and embedded controller software, progressing projects from concept through volume manufacture. Slipstream’s products include radar signal processors for transponder applications. Teledyne Defence & Space, formerly part of Filtronic, specializes in adaptive filters and microwave front-ends for sea, land, air and space. It also manufactures radar warning receiver, radar electronic support measurement and electronic intelligence subsystems, as well as systems capable of handling the dense signal environments found in military operations and highly integrated receiver and broadband jammer subsystems. Finally, Diamond Microwave designs compact, high-power microwave solid-state power amplifiers (SSPAs) using chip and wire GaN technology for applications such as radar, EW, aerospace and communications. The products are optimized for high power-to-volume ratio. Early last year, TMD Technologies Ltd became a shareholder in Diamond Microwave Ltd.
SARAS Technology, in Leeds, manufactures a range of PAs, filters and subsystems to 40 GHz, mainly for defense, aerospace, security and telecom applications. A short distance away, in York, BSC Filters—part of the Dover Corporation—designs and produces active microwave assemblies and modules for phased array radar, EW and commercial applications. These include front-end preselectors, switched filters for antenna front-ends, IF assemblies, digital RF memory front-ends, adaptive filtering and switched multiplexers and filter assemblies for SDR.
THE NORTHEAST
Viper RF is a MMIC designer and manufacturer based in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham. Both of its co-founders, with others on the team, formerly worked for Filtronic Compound Semiconductors prior to its acquisition by RFMD (now Qorvo). Newcastle in northeast England is home to INEX Microtechnology Ltd., which produces nanotechnology and compound semiconductor products. INEX was established in 2014 as a commercial unit of Newcastle University and has since developed collaborative relationships with partners and customers to deliver devices that include power transistors for SSPAs to X-Band from its 6-in. GaN line. INEX has 400 m2 of class 1000 cleanroom for front-end processing and 150 m2 of class 10,000 cleanroom for back-end processing, packaging, test and characterization. It has been promoted as developing a sovereign GaN technology supply chain to mitigate many of the barriers encountered by existing GaN foundries around the world, due to a combination of IP, competition and export issues.
SCOTLAND
Some years ago, Scotland was home to a cluster of telecoms, defense and semiconductor companies, earning the corridor between Edinburgh and Glasgow the nickname “Silicon Glen.” In recent years, however, many of these facilities have either closed or scaled down.
Trak Microwave, now a Smiths Interconnect brand based in Dundee, designs and manufactures RF and mmWave passive components and subassemblies, including ferrite isolators, circulators, transitions, terminations, loads and couplers for defense and space applications. NXP still operates at the former Motorola/Freescale site in Glasgow but now focuses on automotive applications such as ADAS.
IRELAND
Both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland have a strong history of microwave and, particularly, mmWave technology. Arralis has sites in Belfast in the north and Limerick in the south, as well as Swindon in England. It specializes in mmWave components and modules for the communications, satellite, aerospace and defense markets, specifically at K/Ka-, E- and W-Band. It recently announced that its LE-KaTR-102 Ka-Band transceiver (27 and 30.5 GHz uplink and 17 to 21.2 GHz downlink) had been deployed in the OHB Cosmos CubeSat launched in January 2021. Ferfics, based in Cork, provides design services for front-end RFICs and mmWave semiconductor devices for wireless connectivity applications, including mobile handsets, Wi-Fi, wireless infrastructure, CATV, radar and satcom.
Farran Technology has been developing mmWave products for more than 40 years. Its standard and custom systems and subsystems find applications in test and measurement, radar and imaging, communications, research and development and aerospace. These include 6G products aimed at enabling next-generation devices and systems, as well as facilitating scientific studies of communication channels and new materials for 6G. Analog semiconductor specialist Skyworks has a design center in Cork, as well as another in Bishops Stortford, England.
A VARIED MICROWAVE LANDSCAPE
The U.K.’s microwave industry is no longer shaped by the huge, vertically-integrated defense and telecoms contractors of the past, but their influence can still be detected. Large vendors like Airbus, Leonardo and MBDA have major operations in the U.K. but tend to purchase both components and design services from the vibrant ecosystem of small and medium-sized companies, rather than making them in-house. Space and satcom are currently growing in importance as a market, complementing rather than displacing the more conventional telecoms market.
References
- H. Duncan, “Staff anger at Bookham’s Caswell GaAs closure,” EE Times, May 27, 2004, Web, www.eetimes.com/staff-anger-at-bookhams-caswell-gaas-closure/.
- U.K. Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport, “Future RAN: Diversifying the 5G Supply Chain Competition Winners,” 8 December 2021, www.gov.uk/guidance/future-ran-diversifying-the-5g-supply-chain-competition-winners.
- P. Rawlinson, “Connecting the Compound Semiconductor Cluster,” Cardiff University blog, July 20, 2020, Web, blogs.cardiff.ac.uk/innovation/2020/07/20/connecting-the-compound-semiconductor-cluster/.
- “Filtronic Precision Hybrid Microelectronics Assembly and Test to 90 GHz,” Fabs and Labs, Microwave Journal, June 2020, Vol. 64, No. 6, pp. 98.
- “Filtronic Wins 2021 Queen’s Award for Enterprise, International Trade,” Microwave Journal, April 29, 2021, Web, www.microwavejournal.com/articles/35913-filtronic-wins-2021-queens-award-for-enterprise-international-trade.
