Bringing Together Research

The research activities are led by Professor Chee Hing Tan.

The aim of the IKC is to bring together all the disparate parts of the research and development activity in semiconductor and electronic systems design from across the UK using HI as the unifying force.

The UK has a strong semiconductor science base offering significant opportunity to grow and expand the UK semiconductor industry. A core activity within the IKC is to engage the UK academic community. The IKC has engaged a deliberately broad Research College spanning universities and research organisations across the UK — including the University of Sheffield, University of Southampton, Newcastle University, King’s College London, University of Cambridge, University of Edinburgh, University of Manchester, University of Oxford, Queen’s University Belfast, University of Strathclyde, and STFC. This represents UK research in semiconductor systems, providing both regional engagement and focus areas on design methods, manufacturing pathways and application-area variation. The ongoing research of these groups provides strong candidates for integration via HI into UK best practice in electronic systems. These include:

• Foundational components and design IP blocks for integration into systems
• Toolchain improvements including new methods to support the systems design process
• Innovation to improve 'Secure by Design' outcomes from new threat identification to mitigation strategies, supporting open yet resilient HI supply chains
• New systems design concepts for new application areas

They will provide outcomes from foundational research, funded within UK research programmes, that can be integrated via evolving HI techniques.

Much UK research ends at the point of demonstrating a ‘hero’ device or circuit and fails to make the transition to a marketable product which contributes to the UK economy. The IKC's objective is to develop translation pathways for core research into system integration projects for real-world industrial application to help bridge this market-failure chasm. The IKC will help feed foundational research innovation from materials through devices and into systems that demonstrate industry-relevant HI impacts.

Each research area will be linked to reuse engineering activity in the Core Design Commons and industry co-creation Projects to ensure that knowledge exchange is managed rather than an accidental outcome.

The IKC will help develop the current and next generation of UK researchers by increasing their understanding of electronic systems design involving HI. The Centre has specific plans to engage with new cohorts of PhDs within academia formed by significant UK investment in new Centres for Doctoral Training.

Below are summaries of various research associated with CHIMES.