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Regional cluster

The Scottish semiconductor cluster

Scotland's central belt holds the broadest mix of semiconductor activity in the UK — operating wafer fabs, photonics and laser manufacture, packaging and test, and university nanofabrication of genuine industrial standard.

What does Scotland's semiconductor cluster actually do?

The curated Semiconductor.co.uk company index currently holds 32 published records in this cluster — 31 dedicated semiconductor businesses and 1 diversified company with semiconductor capability alongside other activity, across 17 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.

More of the physical value chain than any other UK cluster outside South Wales. Scotland has operating wafer fabrication, silicon carbide device manufacture, photomask production, compound semiconductor epitaxy, laser and photonic device manufacture, packaging and coating, probe and test services, and analogue, imaging and radio-frequency design.

Geographically it is a central belt cluster: Glasgow and Edinburgh for design, photonics and imaging; Fife and Lanarkshire for fabrication, packaging and equipment; Livingston and Renfrewshire for coating, photonics and the packaging work being built up around the National Manufacturing Institute Scotland.

32
Published records in this cluster
Curated index, verified individually
31
Dedicated semiconductor businesses
Semiconductors are the core activity
1
Diversified companies
Semiconductor capability alongside other work
17
Distinct primary capabilities
From the controlled capability vocabulary

At a glance

  • Operating silicon and MEMS wafer fabs in Fife and Lanarkshire
  • UK silicon carbide device foundry capability at Lochgelly
  • Photomask manufacture and compound semiconductor epitaxy in-region
  • James Watt Nanofabrication Centre provides industrial-grade nanofabrication
  • Advanced packaging capability being built up in Renfrewshire
  • Deep photonics, imaging and quantum device research base

What this cluster specialises in

Wafer fabrication and silicon carbide

Silicon, MEMS and silicon carbide device fabrication on 100mm to 200mm lines, serving power, sensing and industrial customers.

Photonics, lasers and imaging

Semiconductor lasers, photonic devices, single-photon and imaging detectors, and the optical coating needed to finish them.

Analogue, mixed-signal and RF design

Audio and mixed-signal chip design and radio-frequency front ends, including long-established international design centres.

Equipment, packaging and test

Semiconductor process and lithography equipment, gas and fluid delivery systems, probe cards, test and device recovery services.

Capabilities recorded here

  • Detectors / Imaging Devices5
  • Analogue / Mixed-Signal Design4
  • Foundry / Wafer Fabrication3
  • Semiconductor Lasers3
  • Semiconductor Manufacturing Equipment3
  • Back-End Assembly / Packaging2
  • Photonic Semiconductor Devices2
  • Epitaxy1
  • Fabless Semiconductor Design1
  • Front-End Semiconductor Manufacturing1
  • MEMS / Sensors1
  • Metrology / Inspection1
  • Quantum Semiconductor Devices1
  • RF / MMIC Design1
  • Semiconductor IP1
  • Semiconductor Test1
  • Test / Probe 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 32 of 32

  • ALTER Technology UK

    Dedicated

    Scottish operation of the TUV NORD ALTER Technology group providing semiconductor component qualification, screening, test, failure analysis and microelectronic assembly services for space, defence and high-reliability applications.

    Back-End Assembly / Packaging · Edinburgh

    UK operation of TUV NORD ALTER Technology (Spain / Germany)

    Website

  • Amethyst Research

    Dedicated

    Glasgow-registered infrared detector specialist growing III-V epitaxial material and designing infrared detector and avalanche photodiode devices, operating alongside an affiliated United States business.

    Detectors / Imaging Devices · Glasgow

    UK operation of Affiliated with Amethyst Research Inc. (US)

    Website

  • Antonine Technology

    Dedicated

    Cumbernauld analogue, mixed-signal and radio-frequency integrated circuit design consultancy providing semiconductor design and project management services.

    Analogue / Mixed-Signal Design · Cumbernauld

    Website

  • Cirrus Logic

    Dedicated

    Semiconductor company with a substantial Edinburgh design centre developing audio and mixed-signal chips, originating in the former Wolfson Microelectronics business.

    Analogue / Mixed-Signal Design · Edinburgh

    UK operation of Cirrus Logic, Inc. (United States)

    Website

  • Clas-SiC Wafer Fab

    Dedicated

    Fife-based pure-play silicon carbide wafer foundry providing device fabrication for power semiconductor customers developing SiC diodes and transistors.

    Foundry / Wafer Fabrication · Lochgelly

    Website

  • Compugraphics International

    Dedicated

    Glenrothes manufacturer of photomasks and reduction reticles for semiconductor, MEMS, compound semiconductor and optoelectronic wafer fabrication; part of the US-owned MacDermid Alpha group.

    Front-End Semiconductor Manufacturing · Glenrothes

    UK operation of MacDermid Alpha Electronics Solutions

    Website

  • CST Global

    Dedicated

    Lanarkshire manufacturer of III-V semiconductor laser diodes, including distributed feedback lasers and photonic integrated devices, for telecoms, sensing, defence and medical customers.

    Semiconductor Lasers · Blantyre

    Website

  • FTDI

    Dedicated

    Glasgow-based fabless semiconductor company designing USB and interface bridging chips together with the supporting driver software used by equipment makers.

    Fabless Semiconductor Design · Glasgow

    Website

  • Helia Photonics

    Dedicated

    Livingston company providing thin-film optical coatings for laser diodes together with back-end wafer processing services including thinning, lithography and reactive ion etching.

    Back-End Assembly / Packaging · Livingston

    Website

  • Ichor Systems

    Dedicated

    Blantyre operation manufacturing and refurbishing gas and fluid delivery systems, valves and precision-machined components for semiconductor fabrication equipment makers.

    Semiconductor Manufacturing Equipment · Blantyre

    UK operation of Ichor Systems, Inc. (United States)

    Website

  • III-V Epi

    Dedicated

    Glasgow epitaxy foundry providing custom MOCVD and MBE growth of arsenide, antimonide and phosphide structures for lasers, LEDs, optical amplifiers and photodetectors.

    Epitaxy · Glasgow

    Website

  • Intellemetrics Global

    Dedicated

    Paisley manufacturer of optical in-situ process monitoring and control instruments, including etch depth monitors and wafer vision systems used in semiconductor and thin-film production.

    Metrology / Inspection · Paisley

    Website

  • Kelvin Nanotechnology

    Dedicated

    Glasgow company providing commercial access to university nanofabrication facilities, including electron-beam lithography and device processing services.

    Foundry / Wafer Fabrication · Glasgow

    Website

  • Kelvin Quantum

    Dedicated

    University of Glasgow spin-out designing cryogenic analogue and mixed-signal integrated circuits on standard CMOS processes, together with control and readout electronics for quantum processors operating near absolute zero.

    Analogue / Mixed-Signal Design · Glasgow

    Website

  • Kopin Europe

    Dedicated

    Dalgety Bay facility designing and manufacturing high-resolution ferroelectric liquid crystal on silicon microdisplays and spatial light modulators for defence, medical and industrial imaging.

    Photonic Semiconductor Devices · Dalgety Bay

    UK operation of Kopin Corporation (United States)

    Website

  • Logitech Ltd

    Dedicated

    Clydebank-area manufacturer of precision lapping, polishing, chemical-mechanical polishing, cutting and bonding equipment used in semiconductor and compound semiconductor wafer processing. Unrelated to the computer peripherals company of the same name.

    Semiconductor Manufacturing Equipment · Old Kilpatrick

    Website

  • Metahelios

    Dedicated

    Glasgow company developing metasurface colour-filter technology applied to CMOS image sensor chips, intended to replace conventional filter arrays and improve sensitivity.

    Detectors / Imaging Devices · Glasgow

    Website

  • Neuranics

    Dedicated

    Glasgow university spin-out developing tunnelling magnetoresistance magnetic sensor integrated circuits and custom application-specific integrated circuits for wearable and extended-reality products.

    MEMS / Sensors · Glasgow

    Website

  • NTEK Litho

    Diversified

    East Kilbride business specialising in refurbishment, lens optimisation, installation, decommissioning, resale and training for semiconductor lithography steppers and scanners, serving fabs in the United Kingdom and internationally.

    Semiconductor Manufacturing Equipment · East Kilbride

    Website

  • NXP Semiconductors UK

    Dedicated

    United Kingdom operation of NXP Semiconductors, including an established technology centre at East Kilbride covering automotive and internet-of-things semiconductor product development and research.

    Analogue / Mixed-Signal Design · East Kilbride

    UK operation of NXP Semiconductors N.V. (Netherlands)

    Website

  • Photon Force

    Dedicated

    Edinburgh company designing and supplying single-photon avalanche diode cameras and custom sensor systems for photonics research, quantum optics and life science instrumentation.

    Detectors / Imaging Devices · Edinburgh

    Website

  • Premier Photonics

    Dedicated

    Scottish fabless photonics company designing photodetectors, LEDs and laser diodes from ultraviolet to infrared wavelengths, using external foundries for volume production.

    Photonic Semiconductor Devices · Livingston

    Website

  • Probe Test Solutions

    Dedicated

    Glasgow company designing, simulating and fabricating advanced semiconductor wafer- and package-test hardware, including probe cards and automated test equipment interfaces, for communications, artificial-intelligence processor and automotive chip customers.

    Test / Probe Equipment · Glasgow

    Website

  • Quantcore Technologies

    Dedicated

    Glasgow company designing, fabricating and testing niobium-based superconducting quantum processors, resonators and sensors, working from the James Watt Nanofabrication Centre; a University of Glasgow spin-out.

    Quantum Semiconductor Devices · Glasgow

    Website

  • Retronix Semiconductor

    Dedicated

    Scottish company providing semiconductor component recovery, reballing, testing and supply-chain services to electronics manufacturers and fabs.

    Semiconductor Test · Coatbridge

    Website

  • Semefab

    Dedicated

    Glenrothes silicon wafer foundry offering specialist process development, discrete device and MEMS fabrication on small and medium wafer sizes.

    Foundry / Wafer Fabrication · Glenrothes

    Website

  • Semiwise

    Dedicated

    Glasgow company developing and licensing CMOS device and technology IP, transistor simulation modules and cryogenic compact models, alongside TCAD consultancy for semiconductor manufacturers.

    Semiconductor IP · Glasgow

    Website

  • Singular Photonics

    Dedicated

    Edinburgh company developing single-photon avalanche diode image sensors with on-chip processing for scientific, medical and industrial imaging; spun out of the University of Edinburgh.

    Detectors / Imaging Devices · Edinburgh

    Website

  • Sivers Photonics

    Dedicated

    Glasgow manufacturer of indium phosphide laser chips and photonic devices for sensing, optical communications and medical applications, part of Sivers Semiconductors.

    Semiconductor Lasers · Glasgow

    UK operation of Sivers Semiconductors

    Website

  • Sofant Technologies

    Dedicated

    Edinburgh company developing radio-frequency MEMS components and beam-steering antenna systems for satellite communication terminals.

    RF / MMIC Design · Edinburgh

    Website

  • STMicroelectronics UK

    Dedicated

    Edinburgh design centre of STMicroelectronics, developing CMOS imaging, photonic sensing and meta-optics sensor technology as part of the group global imaging division.

    Detectors / Imaging Devices · Edinburgh

    UK operation of STMicroelectronics N.V.

    Website

  • Vector Photonics

    Dedicated

    Glasgow company developing photonic crystal surface-emitting laser technology for optical communications, sensing and industrial applications.

    Semiconductor Lasers · Glasgow

    Website

Search the full UK company index · Report a correction or a missing company

What Silicon Glen means now

"Silicon Glen" described the central belt electronics manufacturing base built up from the 1960s, when overseas manufacturers established wafer fabrication and consumer electronics assembly across Fife, Lanarkshire and West Lothian. Most of that high-volume assembly base closed or moved after the early 2000s downturn.

What remains is smaller and more specialised: a handful of operating fabs, photonics and laser manufacturers, packaging and test businesses, equipment suppliers and design centres, supported by university fabrication facilities. The current cluster is best understood as built on that manufacturing heritage rather than as a revival of it.

Manufacturing and research infrastructure

Scotland retains genuine front-end manufacturing. Semefab operates wafer fabs on a single Glenrothes site covering MEMS and CMOS or bipolar processes on 100mm and 150mm wafers, with its own probe and test capability. Clas-SiC Wafer Fab at Lochgelly runs a dedicated silicon carbide device foundry, and Compugraphics International manufactures photomasks at Glenrothes. Diodes Incorporated also operates a wafer fabrication plant at Greenock, acquired from Texas Instruments in 2019, running 150mm and 200mm analogue, CMOS and discrete lines.

Compound semiconductor and photonic device manufacture is concentrated around Glasgow, with epitaxy, semiconductor laser and detector production in the city and optical coating in Livingston. The University of Glasgow's James Watt Nanofabrication Centre is the region's most significant research facility: a large cleanroom with more than £35 million of fabrication and metrology equipment, operated with a substantial technician team, and available to companies commercially through its spinout Kelvin Nanotechnology.

Packaging is the newest layer. In 2025 a £160 million UK Government investment through the Glasgow City Region Investment Zone was announced to establish a national advanced semiconductor packaging and integration capability led by the National Manufacturing Institute Scotland, part of the University of Strathclyde, in Renfrewshire — building on earlier Innovate UK funding for power electronics packaging. The Compound Semiconductor Applications Catapult has maintained a Scottish presence at Strathclyde's Technology Innovation Centre since 2023.

Universities and research

The University of Glasgow combines semiconductor device research with the fabrication capability to make what it designs, with work spanning MEMS sensing, single-photon detectors, heterogeneously integrated photonics and quantum components. The University of Strathclyde contributes applied manufacturing capability through the National Manufacturing Institute Scotland, including the packaging programme and collaborations with operating fabs.

Heriot-Watt University's Institute of Photonics and Quantum Sciences is one of the UK's larger concentrations of photonics and quantum researchers, with doctoral training centres in applied photonics and quantum technologies and a steady spinout record. The University of Edinburgh supports imaging and AI-hardware commercialisation through Edinburgh Innovations, and the University of St Andrews works on organic semiconductor optoelectronics from its own cleanroom. Between them these institutions supply much of the cluster's engineering intake.

Investment and programmes

The headline commitment is the £160 million UK Government investment through the Glasgow City Region Investment Zone announced in 2025, directed at the advanced packaging and integration centre led by the National Manufacturing Institute Scotland. Job and revenue projections attached to that programme come from the institute and press reporting rather than audited data, and are treated here as projections.

Alongside it, Scotland's Critical Technologies Supercluster was launched in November 2024 by Technology Scotland with the Scottish Government, Scottish Enterprise and the Universities of Glasgow and Strathclyde, covering photonics, quantum, semiconductors and sensing. Technology Scotland reports that these sectors together supported close to 11,000 jobs and over £4 billion of annual revenue at launch, with an action plan targeting more than £10 billion of revenue by 2035. Those are the supercluster's own figures and cover a wider technology base than semiconductors alone.

Cluster and industry organisations

Technology Scotland

Representative body for Scotland's enabling technology sector, running Photonics Scotland and special-interest groups covering quantum and fabrication.

Scotland's Critical Technologies Supercluster

Joint industry, government and university initiative covering photonics, quantum, semiconductors and sensing.

National Manufacturing Institute Scotland

University of Strathclyde institute leading the advanced semiconductor packaging and integration programme in Renfrewshire.

Compound Semiconductor Applications Catapult

National applications body with a Scottish presence at Strathclyde, working on power module design and manufacturing scale-up.

How this cluster fits the UK sector

Scotland is the UK's most broadly based semiconductor cluster: it is the only one combining operating wafer fabs, compound semiconductor and photonic device manufacture, packaging development and industrial-grade university nanofabrication in the same region. It is complementary to South Wales, which is deeper in compound semiconductor volume manufacturing, and to Cambridge and Bristol, which are design-led.

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.

Semiconductor.co.uk is independently owned. Senior appointments, events, announcements and partnership enquiries

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.