Spinning out semiconductors

A new spin-out from the University of Glasgow's Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering is commercialising a new semiconductor process technology with the aid of £400,000 from the IP Group and the Synergy Fund.

Over the last 10 years, a team led by Professor Iain Thayne and Dr Khaled Elgaid at the University have demonstrated that they can build ICs with a maximum operating frequency up to 500GHz using the department's 50nm GaAs mHEMT process technology.

Now, XanIC, the spin-out they have formed, will use the fabrication facilities at the James Watt Nanofabrication Centre to manufacture MMICs operating in the frequency band 50GHz -500GHz based on either its own designs or those of its customers.

XanIC’s first product will be a 94 GHz Low Noise Amplifier (LNA) which, it says, has applications in a range of security systems.

The IP Group, which announced its new partnership with the University of Glasgow last October, will invest up to £280,000 in XanIC alongside up to £120,000 from the Synergy Fund subject to the company meeting agreed milestones.

The technology received Scottish Enterprise Proof of Concept funding from 2001 - 2003 followed by pre-incorporation funding from the Synergy Fund, which is managed by Scottish Equity Partners.

In July 2006, Nick Wood was brought-in part-time under the Scottish Enterprise Glasgow/ERDF (European Regional Development Fund) CEO Designate programme, as Interim Chief Executive Officer. Wood is a serial entrepreneur and a founder of Sagentia, the UK listed technology group. Through his incubation company, daVinci Ventures, Wood now specialises in technology commercialisation, working with University spin-outs and start-up companies around the UK.