微电子UK 2026:半导体Catapult倾斜到AI和RF

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With the UK Semiconductor Catapult officially launching today, Electronics Weekly talked with Caroline O’Brien, CEO of the organisation, at the Microelectronics UK event in London. The catapult, the reincarnation of […] With the UK Semiconductor Catapult officially launching today, Electronics Weekly talked with Caroline O’Brien, CEO of the organisation, at the Microelectronics UK event in London. The catapult, the reincarnation of the Compound Semiconductor Applications Catapult, has a new focus. It now covers, in terms of semiconductors, everything from the power grid all the way to physical AI. Why is the Semiconductor Catapult shifting its strategic focus toward AI hardware, infrastructure, and defence-related supply chains? It is the rapid technological evolution of these high-growth areas driving the change, she explained. “We need to make sure that we keep pace with the advancing technology,” she told Electronics Weekly . “And what’s really key is we support RF, photonics, power, advanced packaging, and we also have a new team, which is quantum. But with all of these building blocks, there is a convergence of technology which is being driven by the AI hardware and infrastructure segments.” “In terms of SST, solid state transformers, we’re on the leading edge in terms of the datacentres,” she told us. “From our perspective, we’ve got some great photonics technologies, and we’ve got the packaging technologies, for the convergence of technologies already in datacentres”. The pivot in focus aims to address growing demand for sovereign capabilities, IP protection, and more robust supply chains. Specifically, the Catapult is working on key building blocks for AI systems. For example, SSTs for sustainable power, as mentioned, and also advanced photonics for datacentres. These can replace relatively inefficient copper-based systems and improve performance in high-latency environments. “I believe that we’ve got a unique position, coming from compound semiconductors and going into silicon, because we can bring all that knowledge and expertise, in terms of not just power consumption but also faster switching. Latency is important in these future applications.” “We can look at the best solutions for the market rather than being tied to one particular technology,” she explained. RF, and beam forming, will also have a focus, for example for internal security within organisations that require broader paths of communications than single pre-defined links. For example, communicating early failures within a system. “Again, there is potential for dual-use as well, with comms to drones, as an example,” she said. “The RF skills that we have are becoming much more important.” The learning from compound semiconductor technologies will still be applicable, however, O’Brien emphasised, even as focus on the electric vehicle market lessens. She highlighted the role of such technology in a wider range of applications. For example, in the recent Sonata system being developed for aircraft taxiing systems. “That’s an example of us taking our experience in EVs and applying it in a different way. It’s very similar technology wise, but [the application is] a new way to implement it.” The primary goal of the organisation, she concluded, is to help UK-based companies scale their technologies. And also stay within the UK and contribute to its economy and also the wider domestic ecosystem. By helping provide access to supply chains and UK technical expertise, the Catapult aims to bridge the gap between research concepts and commercial reality. This is for the long-term economic benefit of the UK. “The one thing that we are really good at in the UK is the technology side, and building concepts. The Catapult is here to take those concepts into reality.” “It’s really about getting technologies quickly through the different stages so that they can compete on a world stage and then they can return economic value back to the UK. And that’s what’