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Ahead of her speaking appearance at Microelectronics UK, taking place on 29-30 September, Katie Hore, innovation director at REWIRE, a UKRI-funded innovation and knowledge centre (IKC) focused on pioneering next-generation power semiconductor technology and power electronics, discusses international collaboration and the relationship between academia, industry and investors.

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What does your role and responsibilities entail at REWIRE?

My role at REWIRE is to connect research, industry and the wider semiconductor ecosystem to help accelerate the next generation power semiconductor technologies. I lead our innovation and knowledge exchange activities, building industry partnerships, identifying opportunities for research that will translate into real-world impact, and helping shape REWIRE’s strategy, roadmaps and programs to strengthen the UK’s semiconductor capability.

How do you and your team identify the ideas or technologies with the greatest potential to make real-world impact?

We look for problems and then see what needs to be done to solve them. We work closely with industry and end users to understand the biggest challenges/opportunities, then along with our understanding of emerging research and technologies identify areas where REWIRE can make a genuine difference. Much of this comes from talking to as many people as possible at events such as Microelectronics UK.

What are the opportunities that arise working alongside colleagues at Cambridge and Warwick - and what challenges (if any) arise?

Despite being among the leading power semiconductor groups in the country, we hadn’t had the opportunity to work together before. We have complementary strengths and experience across materials, devices, manufacturing and systems, which allows us to tackle challenges together and gives industry access to a much broader research base. For example, we have been testing the radiation hardness of WBG device together and have done over 1000 tests of GaN, SiC and Ga2O3 devices. The challenge is making sure we work as one team rather than three institutions, but regular interaction and a shared focus helps.

REWIRE announced in March it had strengthened international partnerships and accelerated progress in WBG and UWBG semiconductors in Japan. How important are partnerships such as these for the UK and, more broadly, how did you assess the UK-Japan Frontier Technology Partnership announced by the government in June?

International partnerships are critical if the UK is going to remain competitive in a global semiconductor industry. The UK cannot do everything but with the right partners it can make a huge impact. Our work with Japan has shown the value of connecting complementary strengths, in this case design, compound semiconductors expertise and a strong IP portfolio in the UK and materials, scale-up, and high-volume manufacturing in Japan, while giving researchers and companies the community and connections to advance technology that we cannot develop in isolation. The UK-Japan Frontier Technology Partnership is therefore a very positive development, and one that creates opportunities to turn strong research relationships into longer-term partnerships and commercial outcomes for both countries.

How do you more broadly assess the relationship between academia, industry and investors with regard to this area of semiconductor right now and getting a strong pipeline to commercially viable solutions? What is going well and what still needs to be done?

There is a lot of positive momentum, with both sides (and government) recognising the necessity for strong, long-term relationships. However, there is still a gap between promising research and a marketable product, particularly in the UK in areas such as prototyping facilities and small-scale manufacturing capability. As we are doing in REWIRE and with other IKCs we need to bring academia, industry, and investors together earlier, so that technologies are developed with a clear market need, a route to scale, and adoption. We also need to fund fundamental research, many ideas do not happen while chasing the solution to a specific problem, they happen because someone was interested enough to pursue an idea.

What are the biggest barriers that innovative companies and researchers face when trying to move from a promising idea or prototype to something that can be adopted at scale in your opinion?

Once you have a potential product and have a good idea of an end market, one of the biggest barriers is proving that your semiconductor product is reliable and does what it is design to do under real conditions and can be cost-effectively produced. For innovative companies and researchers, access to specialist facilities, manufacturing expertise, funding, and the right partners can all be difficult. We need to make the journey easier by creating a connected ecosystem with networks and support – starting-up or spinning-out is not easy. Programs such as ChipStart UK are doing an excellent job in guiding new entrepreneurs and companies. Also, startup life is not for everyone. We need to highlight other options to get promising technology onto the path to commercialisation.

What is the most exciting technology or industry development in this space for you right now?

Predictably, AI. The scale of investment is staggering, as is the amount of energy data centre infrastructure require. Wide Band Gap (WBG) power semiconductors are among the technologies that can help reduce the energy demand, and devices developed for AI will have potential across many other end uses, helping to accelerate adoption. I am also excited by the development of ultra-WBG materials such as diamond, gallium oxide, and aluminium nitride, which will enable even higher-voltages and more demanding applications. It is particularly rewarding to see these technologies move from fundamental research towards real device demonstrations and increasing industry interest.

What message are you hoping to get across at Microelectronics UK and what are you looking forward to most at the event?

For REWIRE, it is a great opportunity to showcase what we are doing across WBG and UWBG power semiconductors, and to connect with companies who could benefit from or contribute to our work. I’d like people to come away knowing a little more about REWIRE, understanding the potential of WBG materials and why they matter for the future of power electronics, and recognising the importance of bringing academia, industry, and investors together to turn promising research into real-world products. I’m also looking forward to sharing a stand with the NeuroWare and CHIMES IKCs and demonstrating how we can work together to support the UK semiconductor sector.