JEMI UK Opens Scottish Technology Transfer Center

Staff -- Semiconductor International, 9/1/1998

T he Joint Equipment and Materials suppliers Initiative (JEMI UK) has moved from Guildford, near London, to the Edinburgh University campus in Scotland. JEMI is a non-profit association of 40 large and small companies. It supplies the British wafer fab industry with equipment and materials. It has sister organizations in France (JEMI France) and in Germany (VDMA Productronic). These three associations and firms in The Netherlands are members of Semiconductor Equipment and Materials European Association (SEMEA), a pan-European association for equipment and materials.

Dr. Neil Downie, chief executive of JEMI UK, told Semiconductor International: "Although wafer fabrication takes place throughout the British Isles, Scotland is the most important area for semiconductor production and is often referred to as 'Silicon Glen,' because like the Silicon Valley, it has a high concentration of this industry. Thus it makes sense for JEMI to have its headquarters in Scotland. The move also allows us to get closer to the University of Edinburgh. This university is a leader in silicon technology, with several spin-off semiconductor-related companies to its credit, and is poised to start the construction of a new R&D cleanroom facility."

The United Kingdom is the largest semiconductor producer of all European countries. It is the location of the European headquarters of many suppliers to the industry, and all of the major equipment makers maintain a strong presence. There are large world-class semiconductor suppliers manufacturing in the United Kingdom, including BOC Edwards for gases and vacuum pumps, Applied Materials for ion implanters and Trikon for machines for the innovative ForceFill pressure-based via filling process. Smaller firms such as VG Scientific, Oxford Plasma Technology and Oxford Instruments, STS and Lumonics also build world- class equipment in the United Kingdom. Services also are well represented with world-class operations at the Ministry of Defence laboratories at Malvern, the Edinburgh University Microfabrication Unit and the Central Microstructure Facility of the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in Oxfordshire.

JEMI maintains close links with the government and encourages its members to take advantages of UK financial support. There are generous schemes available in areas of high unemployment or heavy industry closure for setting up new company operations, along with well-supported R&D schemes. JEMI meetings, held throughout the year, often at wafer fabs in the United Kingdom, provide a forum for members to meet to discuss issues of common interest. There are opportunities to discuss matters with wafer fab staff without the pressure of a normal seller-purchaser meeting. There are also meetings open to everyone, and regular issues of the JEMI Bulletin keep JEMI members fully informed about activities.