FOCUS BUSINESS AND RESEARCH NEWS
Coherent secures $15 million in CHIPS funding through CLAWS Hub
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oherent, a firm that develops wide- and ultrawide-bandgap semiconductors, has announced it has secured $15 million in funding
from the Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors (CHIPS) and Science Act of 2022, which was designed to boost US competitiveness, innovation, and national security. The CHIPS programme, which made
more than €43 billion of public and private investments available, seeks to catalyse investments in domestic semiconductor manufacturing capacity and nurture ecosystems that reduce risk – ultimately incentivising large-scale private investment in production, breakthrough technologies, and workers. Notably, the programme previously
provided the Department of Defense (DoD) with $2 billion to strengthen the US semiconductor supply chain. With this, the DoD, through the Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane Division and the National Security Technology Accelerator, established eight Microelectronics
Commons regional innovation hubs in September, including the Commercial Leap Ahead for Wide-Bandgap Semiconductors (CLAWS) Hub based in North Carolina (NC) and led by NC State University. As a member of the CLAWS Hub,
Coherent will receive $15 million to accelerate the commercialisation of next- generation wide- and ultrawide-bandgap semiconductors, including silicon carbide and single-crystal diamond versions. Sohail Khan, Executive Vice President,
Wide-Bandgap Electronics, said: “We are excited to be recipients of funding from the CHIPS Act, delighted to be part of the CLAWS Hub, and proud to help the US establish a strategic, long-term leadership position in these critical next-generation semiconductor technologies.” He went on to say: “Wide- and ultrawide-
bandgap semiconductors enable the electrification of transportation, including road vehicles, high-speed trains, and mobile industrial machinery. They also enable smart power grids to efficiently respond to fluctuations in energy demands
Coherent will use the CHIPS act funding to accelerate the commercialisation of next- generation wide- and ultrawide-bandgap semiconductors
by regulating the delivery of electricity from conventional and renewable sources to distribution networks, as well as to and from utility-scale power storage and microgrids.” While helping to meet DoD requirements
for high-voltage, high-power applications and systems including hybrid electric vehicles, more electric aircraft components, directed energy, Navy vessel power systems, and all-electric ships, silicon carbide power electronics are increasingly recognised for their potential to greatly improve energy efficiency. This includes application in artificial intelligence (AI) data centres and traditional hyperscale data centres, where power consumption is growing rapidly due to the exploding demand for data- and compute-intensive workloads from AI, cryptocurrency mining, and blockchain applications. EO
Optica honours Southampton Optoelectronics Research Centre researchers
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r Qiang Fu and Dr Chris Holmes of the Optoelectronics Research Centre (ORC) at the University of Southampton have received
recognition from Optica for their work in optics and photonics. As leaders of two groups to be awarded
by Optica, a professional society dedicated to the advancement of optics and photonics, Dr Qiang Fu and Dr Chris Holmes from the ORC – the latter also being named as a member of The Photonics100 – have been recognised respectively with the Greatest Growth and Innovation Prize awards, two of only five Technical Group prizes that are awarded annually.
Optica’s Technology Groups In awarding the prizes, Optica referenced the teams’ dedication to the optoelectronics industry, and the outstanding work being done by the volunteers in bringing their community closer together, connecting researchers and providing platforms for young professionals. Set up to recognise and foster excellence
in the next generation of optics and photonics, Optica plays an important role in supporting research communities by developing the next generation of
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innovators, with the society’s awards and prize programs funding the latest and most promising innovations in the fields. The impact of this work continues to grow.
Lasers in Manufacturing group growth In awarding Dr Qiang Fu’s group, Lasers in Manufacturing, with the Greatest Growth award this year, Optica has acknowledged the group’s expansion over the past 12 months, including increasing its membership to more than 1,500 and positioning itself as a leader in the research and development of laser applications for manufacturing solutions. In receiving the prestigious award on behalf of his Lasers in Manufacturing group, Fu said: “It’s a great honour to be awarded this prize from Optica. The recognition illuminates not just our group’s accomplishments, but also the supportive environment the ORC fosters. “The ORC’s encouragement for
researchers like me to volunteer and engage with the wider photonics community has really been instrumental in our success. “This award motivates us to continue the
excellent work and to unite members who are keen on exploring the laser technologies used in manufacturing applications.”
Optical Fabrication and Testing group innovation After being awarded Optica’s Greatest Growth prize last year, Dr Chris Holmes, whose work on integrating flexible planar optics into high-value materials in the $100bn composite sector, thereby helping reduce material scrappage and extending the lifetime of components used in aircraft, shipping and automotive production, saw him recognised in The Photonics100 – led his Optical Fabrication and Testing group to win Optica’s Innovation Prize this year, after launching the group’s ‘facility focus’ initiative. The project introduces international optical fabrication facilities, with video presentations published on the group’s page of the Optica website. “Receiving the award for greatest
innovation from Optica is not just an honour for me, but a reflection of the collective dedication of my team,” said Holmes on hearing the news. “The technical group committee is a
diverse team of international, passionate individuals representing both industry and academia – they have catalysed a series of innovative activities, which have included facility focus, for which we receive our award this year.” EO
May 2024 Electro Optics 9
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