Corporate - News
25 March 2003
New Optoelectronics Packaging Facility for Scotland
Scotland 's leading role in the global optoelectronics industry has been given a massive boost with the announcement today of a new £4.2 million facility dedicated to the commercialisation of research in the growing technology of packaging complex optoelectronic chips.
The new facility which will be located in Livingston and commence operating in the summer of this year will specialise in the development of processes to arrange delicate circuitry in the protective packaging that allows optoelectronic devices to interface and connect to external networks via optical fibres and electronic connections.
It will also develop similar solutions that can be transferred to other emerging technologies such as life sciences where the biochip will play an increasingly important role in the diagnosis of illness and the management of its treatment.
The centre is being developed in conjunction with the industry body, the Scottish Optoelectronics Association and is designed to assist in bridging the gap between design and manufacturing qualification of optoelectronics based devices.
The facility has been developed in conjunction with the industry body, the Scottish Optoelectronics Association and has funding from both Scottish Enterprise and the European Regional Development Fund.
Establishing a facility with specialist capability in packaging technologies is critical to the development of a sustainable Scottish optoelectronics industry.
It will accelerate the commercialisation of university research and help create and support high growth start-up companies.
The facility will also complement the work of the recently launched Intermediate Technology Institutes that will raise Scotland 's international competitiveness by supporting business research and development in key growth sectors of the global economy.
The objectives of the facility are to:
- Assist the commercialisation of research and development by speeding up the route to market
- Develop new device packaging technologies for future advances in optoelectronics and other emerging disciplines
- Provide environmental test, reliability and qualification services to address specific challenges of clients
The project is being managed by Scottish Enterprise Edinburgh and Lothian from a concept developed by the Microelectronics, Optoelectronics and Communications Technology (MOCT) cluster.
David Waring, Director of MOCT, said: “Scotland has an excellent reputation in the field of optoelectronics and this project will further strengthen our international standing. The facility will provide very practical assistance to start-up and spin -out companies who need to develop the processes and techniques required to package their devices in order to bring them to the market place as quickly as possible.”
He added: “This facility is integral to delivering the vision of the government's Smart Successful Scotland economic strategy where research and development is harnessed to build a knowledge-driven economy.”
Chris Gracie, Chief Executive of the Scottish Optoelectronics Association, said : “We are extremely excited at this announcement as it represents a key action of the industry's strategy. It will support the design for manufacture stage in the creation chain which is the chain of events between research and distribution of finished product. We are encouraged by the number of companies being formed from the research base and the increasing investment in their development. We hope this venture will support companies turning their products into a significant share of the large and increasing optoelectronics market.”