A consortium led by Cardiff University’s Centre for High Frequency Engineering (www.cardiff.ac.uk) and the Compound Semiconductor Applications Catapult has won £2.4 million of Welsh Government funding to develop high-frequency electronic devices for ‘next generation’ technologies — from 5G and radar to satellite systems.

Eleven industry partners have pledged another £2.8 million of support.

The industry-led project will involve partners in the South Wales compound semiconductor cluster — CSConnected — working in chip design, fabrication, innovative waveform-based characterisation, testing and production.

It will help researchers to develop Radio Frequency Gallium Nitride (RF-GaN) technologies to make high-speed, cost-effective, smaller and more-reliable chips that out-perform traditional silicon.

The funding announcement coincided with a ‘topping out’ ceremony for the University’s Translational Research Facility, a high-tech centre that will house researchers and industry partners involved in compound semiconductor and catalytic science.

Welsh education minister Kirsty Williams, Bouygues UK chief executive Rob Bradley and Cardiff University vice-chancellor Colin Riordan added their signatures to a beam on the building’s highest point.