SMD Semiconductor, a wholly owned entity of the Sarawak Government, will be located at the Compound Semiconductor Applications (CSA) Catapult’s Innovation Centre in Newport.
The hub was officially opened by the Premier of Sarawak at a special ceremony attended by delegates from the Sarawak, UK and Welsh governments, as well as industry partners.
During the ceremony, SMD Semiconductor and CSA Catapult signed and exchanged a formal agreement to collaborate on developing new compound semiconductor chips for AI and edge devices.
Edge devices, such as sensors and cameras, perform data processing at the location of the device instead of sending it to the cloud. This makes them quicker, more energy efficient, more secure, and will enable real-time data processing, which is critical for applications in defence, healthcare, surveillance and robotics.
SMD Semiconductor is a wholly owned entity of the Sarawak Government and was established in September 2022 under State Financial Secretary Incorporation (SFS Inc.).
It focuses on advanced technological research and development, with an emphasis on chip design and the development of integrated circuit products.
SMD Semiconductor is seeking to expand its capabilities into compound semiconductors and take advantage of the expertise of both CSA Catapult and UK industry.
Established by Innovate UK in 2018, CSA Catapult is the UK’s authority on compound semiconductor applications and commercialisation.
With labs and offices across the UK, CSA Catapult is a centre of excellence with state-of-the-art equipment that specialises in the measurement, characterisation, integration and validation of compound semiconductor technology across four areas: power electronics, advanced packaging, radio frequency (RF) and microwave communications, and photonics.
In 2024, CSA Catapult and SMD Semiconductor signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) that laid the initial foundation for collaboration in the design, prototyping and manufacturing of next-generation chips.
Article originally posted here.
