Semiconductor metrology and standards will ensure the UK plays to its strengths

Smaller, faster, more efficient: the quest for relentless miniaturization has served the global semiconductor industry well – and, in fact, continues to do so, with the number of transistors on a microchip still doubling (per Moore’s Law) roughly every two years. Increasingly, however, applied scientists and engineers are redefining semiconductor progress along multiple axes of innovation.

The drivers? On the one hand, there is a convergence of new materials, advanced device concepts and heterogeneous integration (which combines different materials or technologies within one high-performance microelectronics package); on the other, the market-pull of disruptive technologies like AI and machine-learning, quantum computing and electrified transportation.

For the UK, “the opportunity is real and the direction is clear”, according to a new semiconductor metrology roadmap published by the National Physical Laboratory (NPL), the UK’s National Metrology Institute.

Following a three-year consultation exercise with around 500 semiconductor experts, the report – UK Priorities in Semiconductor Metrology and Standards to Drive Innovation and Growth – states that the UK must invest in foundational metrology and standardization capabilities to unlock commercial opportunities across the semiconductor supply chain.

“There’s been a gap in understanding – in policy circles and in industry – about the critical role that semiconductor metrology plays in defining what good looks like,” says Gareth Edwards, head of advanced manufacturing and materials strategy at NPL. “Publication of this roadmap is an attempt to reset the narrative by ensuring that metrology and standardization are treated as integral components of the UK’s semiconductor strategy, not as peripheral technical concerns.”

By shaping how emerging semiconductor technologies are measured, qualified and trusted, the roadmap argues the UK can help define the rules of future markets, support resilient supply chains and convert scientific excellence into sustained economic and strategic advantage.

“There’s a lot at stake here,” adds Edwards. “The countries that drive the conversation on standards development can ensure first-mover advantage for their domestic manufacturing base when it comes to roll-out and acceptance of new semiconductor materials, processes and products.”

Punching above its weight

While the NPL roadmap acknowledges that the UK is unlikely to become a leader in large-scale advanced silicon manufacturing alongside the likes of Taiwan, Korea and the US, the country has notable strengths that align well with the long-term trajectory of the global semiconductor industry.

The UK’s academic and industrial R&D base, for example, consistently punches above its weight, underpinning world-class capabilities in compound semiconductors, materials science, photonics, power electronics, device modelling, semiconductor tooling and applied measurement science. Through organizations like NPL and BSI, the national standards body, the UK also has an unrivalled reputation for rigour and trust in metrology and standardization.

All of which matters even more given that next-generation semiconductor technologies are advancing much faster than the standards that govern how they are made, tested and integrated.

For context, mature silicon platforms are built upon decades of recognized best-practice and widely adopted specifications. Novel materials and device architectures, by contrast, often arrive without agreed performance metrics, standard test methods or even consistent terminology.

“This means that NPL, and other national metrology institutes like it, have significant work to do where new technologies have to compete or integrate with incumbent semiconductor products,” explains Sebastian Wood, principal scientist for semiconductor materials and devices in NPL’s electronic and magnetic materials group.

The NPL roadmap therefore lands at an apposite moment, setting out 12 metrology priorities to address the UK’s capability gaps in semiconductor technology and manufacturing (see “Made to measure: the path to next-generation semiconductors”, below).

The roadmap’s call-to-action spans the full life-cycle of semiconductor innovation – from materials and structures, through process development and scale-up, to device and system performance – with the aim of exerting influence where global semiconductor markets are still evolving rather than competing where they are already mature.

“As a facilitator,” says Wood, “NPL’s role is to address these metrology priorities by mobilizing key stakeholders across the UK semiconductor ecosystem.”

Operationally, that means bringing together representatives from industry, academia and government to work on all aspects of semiconductor performance metrics, benchmarking and standards development; at the same time, reinforcing the UK’s voice in the European and international standards development organizations. “We want the UK to be a country that defines semiconductor standards, not one that must adapt to them,” he adds.

Joining the semiconductor dots

Encouragingly, the effort to translate the strategic vision for “UK Semiconductor” into economic upside is already under way. The official launch of the semiconductor metrology roadmap is a case in point, with a well-attended workshop at NPL’s Teddington campus in March yielding recommendations for delegates at all levels of the semiconductor supply chain.

The roadmap states that industry must engage earlier and more consistently in pre-competitive metrology and standards activity, recognizing it as an investment in market access and competitiveness. Academia, meanwhile, must align fundamental research more closely with the measurement and qualification needs that shape industrial adoption. Government, too, has a critical role to play by recognizing standards as strategic assets and through targeted funding for pre-competitive standards metrology and research.

“The metrology and standards roadmap offers a framework for a more joined-up innovation pipeline in semiconductor technology,” Wood concludes. “In this way, we will enable UK companies to not only translate their breakthroughs in basic science, but commercialize, scale and project them on global markets.”