e2v and The University of Nottingham celebrate 5 years of pioneering developments in microwave technology

e2v and The University of Nottingham today celebrate five successful years of a major industry and academic collaboration in the field of advanced microwave technology. The partnership has made ground-breaking achievements in research and development and device manufacture, including cutting-edge e2v Gunn and Schottky diodes. These have been launched out of the e2v Semiconductor Technology Centre, a state-of-the-art semiconductor cleanroom in the University’s School of Physics and Astronomy (SPA).

e2v Gunn and Schottky diodes operate as high frequency sources and receivers, well above the 100 GigaHertz (GHz) level, and are an example of an industry challenge overcome by the joint effort. They remain a unique capability – there are no devices similar being made anywhere else in the world.

This joint effort has also spearheaded a wealth of research and development in:

• Superlattice electron devices (SLED’s) for millimetre-wave components
• Manufacture and use of semiconductor PIN diodes for receiver protection – a knowledge transfer partnership
• Millimetre-wave acousto-electric phenomena in semiconductor nanodevices leading to the integration of TeraHertz (THz) acoustics with THz electromagnetic technologies

e2v delivers the widest possible technology span, from the atomic level precision of epitaxial wafer design and specification, through the micron scale of semiconductor processing and the miniature scale of millimetre wave circuits and fabrication, to the real-world scale of working microwave components and sub-systems that simply need to be plugged into an end-user’s system.

Stuart Smith, Vice President e2v Microwave, said: “Five years on, the success of the collaboration has exceeded expectations and reinforced e2v’s position at the forefront of discrete compound semiconductor device manufacture.”

Both parties have enjoyed the successes which continue to bring major benefits; e2v has been awarded a major, long-term contract to supply semiconductor devices into a key millimetre-wave system where the device performance levels are challenging and unrivalled. The SPA has been placed in the top three UK physics departments by the Research Excellence Framework, the system for assessing the quality of research in UK higher education institutions.

Nigel Priestley, Chief Engineer of the e2v Semiconductor Technology Centre, said: “When we entered into the partnership five years ago, we knew we had started something with great potential. The result is that we now have a well-established, unique capability in the UK which is viewed by many as a model to deliver products for customers and also to support and foster world-leading complementary research that exploits physics for challenging applications in growing markets.”

Dr Chris Mellor, Principal Investigator of the collaboration for The University of Nottingham, said: “Over the past five years our interaction with e2v has been stimulating and beneficial for both parties. The collaboration has developed and deepened in several directions, some anticipated and some, such as our collaboration in the area of Quantum Technology, have come out of being able to exploit our complementary capabilities. We look forward to the further benefits that both parties will gain over the next five years.’’

To find out more about e2v Microwave please email rfpower@e2v.com.

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For enquiries about this press release please contact:Hayley Spalding: Hayley.Spalding@e2v.com or +44 (0)1245 453 714

Notes to Editors: 

About e2v: Bringing life to technology, e2v partners with its customers to improve, save and protect people’s lives. Delivering innovative technology for high performance systems and equipment, e2v leads developments in communications, automation, discovery, healthcare and the environment. Around the globe, over 90% of all radiotherapy machines contain e2v’s technology, and every two minutes someone receives cancer treatment using this technology. e2v’s imaging devices are at the heart of more than 150 space-based instruments, including major science observations, planetary exploration missions and Earth observation systems. e2v’s data converters operate in the harshest of space environments, powering satellite communication systems handling 10,000 fully encrypted broadband lines a second.

e2v employs approximately 1750 people worldwide, has design and operational facilities across Europe, North America and Asia, and has a global network of sales and technical support offices. e2v has annual sales of GB225M and is listed on the London Stock Exchange. For more information www.e2v.com
About the University of Nottingham, UK: The University of Nottingham has 43,000 students and is ‘the nearest Britain has to a truly global university, with campuses in China and Malaysia modelled on a headquarters that is among the most attractive in Britain’ (Times Good University Guide 2014). It is also one of the most popular universities in the UK among graduate employers and the winner of ‘Research Project of the Year’ at the THE Awards 2014. It is ranked in the world’s top one per cent of universities by the QS World University Rankings, and 8th in the UK by research power according to REF 2014. The University of Nottingham in Malaysia (UNMC) is holding events throughout 2015 to celebrate 15 years as a pioneer of transnational education. Based in Semenyih, UNMC was established as the UK’s first overseas campus in Malaysia and one of the first world-wide.