CAPE Moves into Cambridge Research Facility

The Cambridge University Electrical Engineering department has completed a new research facility for the development of emerging technologies in optoelectronics, nanoelectronics, displays and other markets. The £14.4 million ($25 million) facility will be the home of the Centre for Advanced Photonics and Electronics (CAPE) consortium, one of its member companies announced yesterday.

A rendering by project architects tp bennett of the new CAPE research center and home of the electrical division of the University of Cambridge's engineering department.

The new CAPE facility, located on the University of Cambridge's science and technology campus in West Cambridge, comprises over 4800 square meters of research and laboratory space, and includes a cleanroom equipped with dedicated process, assembly, and test and measurement tools.

The new building represents the culmination of nearly two years of collaboration between the university and CAPE's member companies. CAPE, founded in 2004, is a partnership between Dow Corning, which released yesterday's announcement, and optoelectronics component supplier Alps Electric Co. Ltd., optical systems firm Marconi/Ericsson and Advance Nanotech, a nanotechnology-focused business incubation company. Together with the University of Cambridge, CAPE is developing new photonics and electronics technologies, applications and business opportunities.

The new CAPE facility will also house the University of Cambridge department of engineering’s electrical division, comprising over 20 academics, and approximately 70 post-doctoral researchers and 150 post-graduate students, the university said.

"The opening of this facility represents an important milestone for the CAPE consortium. By collaborating together in a strategic, pre-competitive environment, CAPE partners will gain access to research results that would be virtually impossible for any one of us to fund or accomplish alone," said Gregg Zank, chief technology officer of Dow Corning. "This is exactly the kind of technology and business innovation that is required for electronics and photonics companies -- and their customers -- to succeed today."

Areas of focus for the new facility include communications, sensors (including biosensors) and smart power. To date, CAPE research projects have included optical waveguides and optical interconnects for advanced data and communication, as well as advanced functional optical element materials and emerging display technologies. As part of Dow Corning's participation, the company said one of its top scientists, Terry Clapp, works at CAPE.

For more information, visit: www-cape.eng.cam.ac.uk