Semiconductor materials
Thin-film and organic semiconductor materials, quantum dots and nanomaterials developed for display, sensing and device use.
Regional cluster
The North West semiconductor cluster
A materials-led cluster anchored by Manchester's graphene and advanced materials research, with established power semiconductor operations in Greater Manchester.
What is the North West semiconductor cluster known for?
The curated Semiconductor.co.uk company index currently holds 13 published records in this cluster — 9 dedicated semiconductor businesses and 4 diversified companies with semiconductor capability alongside other activity, across 7 capabilities. The count moves as records are verified, and is a count of published records rather than an estimate of every company in the region.
Semiconductor materials and power devices. The cluster's research identity comes from advanced materials work in Manchester — graphene, two-dimensional materials and thin-film semiconductors — while its industrial weight sits in power semiconductor operations in Greater Manchester.
Around those anchors are nanomaterial and quantum dot suppliers, infrared sensing developers, compound semiconductor photonics companies and deposition equipment manufacturers. The 2026 Government sector study describes the North West's semiconductor relevance as concentrated upstream in materials science and characterisation.
- 13
- Published records in this cluster
- Curated index, verified individually
- 9
- Dedicated semiconductor businesses
- Semiconductors are the core activity
- 4
- Diversified companies
- Semiconductor capability alongside other work
- 7
- Distinct primary capabilities
- From the controlled capability vocabulary
At a glance
- Graphene and two-dimensional materials research in Manchester
- Power semiconductor operations in Greater Manchester
- Quantum dot and nanomaterial manufacture
- Thin-film and organic semiconductor materials development
- Deposition and thin-film equipment manufacture
- Upstream materials strength rather than volume logic fabrication
What this cluster specialises in
Power semiconductors
Discrete power device operations serving automotive, industrial and consumer electronics markets.
Compound semiconductor photonics and sensing
Photonic device and infrared sensing development, including mid-infrared and detector technologies.
Deposition and thin-film equipment
Research and production deposition systems used in device fabrication and materials development.
Capabilities recorded here
- Semiconductor Materials4
- MEMS / Sensors2
- Photonic Semiconductor Devices2
- Power Semiconductors2
- Process Chemicals1
- Semiconductor IP1
- Semiconductor Manufacturing Equipment1
Companies recorded in this cluster
Drawn live from the central company index and listed alphabetically, with no ranking or paid placement. A cluster is only recorded where the operating location genuinely sits inside the cluster geography, so companies elsewhere in the same region are not listed here.
Showing 13 of 13
Advanced Hall Sensors
DedicatedStretford manufacturer of thin-film semiconductor Hall-effect sensor elements and magnetic sensing devices, supplying custom Hall sensors and sensor wafers to instrumentation, industrial and research customers.
MEMS / Sensors · Stretford
WebsiteDiodes Incorporated (Oldham)
DedicatedSemiconductor manufacturer with an Oldham design and wafer operation, originating in the former Zetex business, producing analogue and discrete devices.
Power Semiconductors · Oldham
UK operation of Diodes Incorporated (United States)
WebsiteEM Resist
DedicatedMacclesfield formulator of photoresists and related lithography chemistries for semiconductor, MEMS and microfabrication processing, including custom resist development and small-volume supply.
Process Chemicals · Macclesfield
WebsiteEnterprise Q
DiversifiedManchester supplier of high-purity materials, targets and process consumables used in thin-film deposition and semiconductor and optoelectronic device fabrication, alongside broader advanced-materials supply.
Semiconductor Materials · Manchester
WebsiteIntegrated Compound Semiconductors
DedicatedUniversity of Manchester spin-out designing and manufacturing III-V compound semiconductor optical and radio-frequency devices, including indium gallium arsenide photodiodes and avalanche photodiodes and single-mode VCSELs for atomic clock and quantum sensing applications.
Photonic Semiconductor Devices · Manchester
WebsiteMoorfield Nanotechnology
DiversifiedCheshire manufacturer of compact deposition, etch and anneal thin-film systems used in semiconductor, graphene and two-dimensional materials research and pilot production; part of listed group Judges Scientific.
Semiconductor Manufacturing Equipment · Knutsford
UK operation of Judges Scientific plc
WebsiteNanoco Technologies
DiversifiedRuncorn manufacturer of cadmium-free quantum dot nanomaterials, including infrared-absorbing materials used in image sensors, photodetectors and displays. Listed on the London Stock Exchange.
Semiconductor Materials · Runcorn
WebsiteNexperia UK
DedicatedSemiconductor manufacturer of discrete devices and power components with UK operations including a Stockport site supporting its wafer and device business.
Power Semiconductors · Stockport
UK operation of Nexperia B.V. (Netherlands)
WebsitePhotarix
DedicatedLancaster University spin-out developing compact gallium arsenide quantum-ring single-photon light-emitting devices capable of room-temperature operation for quantum key distribution over standard telecommunications fibre.
Photonic Semiconductor Devices · Lancaster
WebsitePhovIR
DedicatedUniversity of Manchester spin-out developing a near-infrared optical sensor built using silicon chip manufacturing and MEMS techniques to identify materials by their optical signature for consumer and industrial use.
MEMS / Sensors · Manchester
WebsiteQuantum Science
DiversifiedWarrington nanomaterials company developing infrared and short-wave infrared quantum dot materials for photodetectors and image sensors used in mobile, automotive and healthcare applications.
Semiconductor Materials · Warrington
WebsiteQuinas Technology
DedicatedCompany commercialising ULTRARAM, a compound semiconductor memory using III-V resonant tunnelling to combine non-volatile storage with fast access, invented at Lancaster University where its research activity is based.
Semiconductor IP · Lancaster
WebsiteSmartKem
DedicatedManchester materials company developing organic semiconductor inks and processes for thin-film transistors used in displays and flexible electronics.
Semiconductor Materials · Manchester
Website
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Manufacturing and fabrication capability
Manufacturing in the North West is concentrated in power semiconductor operations and in materials production. Discrete power device activity in Greater Manchester is the region's most substantial semiconductor manufacturing presence, alongside nanomaterial and quantum dot production in Cheshire.
Device-scale fabrication is available through university facilities rather than merchant foundries. We do not identify an open-access commercial wafer foundry in the region and none is claimed here.
Universities and research
The University of Manchester is the anchor institution, through the National Graphene Institute and the Graphene Engineering Innovation Centre, and as the host of the Henry Royce Institute for advanced materials — national infrastructure for materials discovery, characterisation and scale-up that reaches well beyond the region.
Lancaster University contributes semiconductor and quantum technology research, including work behind companies recorded in the index, and Liverpool and Salford add materials and sensing capability. The cluster's strength is characterisation and materials development rather than chip design volume.
Investment and programmes
Public investment here has been directed at materials infrastructure — the graphene institutes and the Henry Royce Institute — rather than at wafer capacity, and private investment has followed into materials and sensing companies.
The 2023 National Semiconductor Strategy's research and infrastructure priorities are the most relevant national commitments for this cluster, with the UK Semiconductor Centre announced in 2025 acting as the national coordination point.
Cluster and industry organisations
Henry Royce Institute
National institute for advanced materials research and scale-up, hubbed at the University of Manchester with partner sites across the UK.
National Graphene Institute
University of Manchester research facility for graphene and two-dimensional materials.
UK Semiconductor Centre
National coordination point for scale-up support and international engagement.
How this cluster fits the UK sector
The North West's contribution to the UK sector is upstream: materials, characterisation and national coordination infrastructure that other clusters draw on, rather than a large local base of chip design or fabrication companies.
Its published company count in our index is consequently smaller than its research infrastructure would imply, and several of its records are classified as diversified because semiconductor work is one market among several.
The 2026 Government sector study identifies 12 regional semiconductor clusters across the UK. The national clusters overview sets out all twelve, each with its own resource and live company count.
Sources
Facilities, programmes and funding described above are drawn from the following first-party and institutional sources. Figures published by a cluster organisation or company are attributed to them in the text rather than presented as official statistics.
Henry Royce Institute
National advanced materials research instituteUniversity of Manchester
National Graphene InstituteDepartment for Science, Innovation and Technology
National Semiconductor Strategy
Continue reading
All 12 UK semiconductor clusters
The national picture, region by region, from the 2026 sector study.
UK company index
Search every published record by capability, region and cluster.
Investment and policy
Public programmes and private capital behind the sector.
Semiconductor glossary
Definitions for epitaxy, foundry, compound semiconductor and more.