 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (July 2010) |
| Company type | Public |
|---|---|
| AIM: IQE | |
| Industry | Semiconductors |
| Founded | 1988 in Cardiff, Wales, UK |
| Founders |
|
| Headquarters | , United Kingdom  |
Area served | Global |
Key people | Jutta Meier (CEO and CFO) |
| Products | Epitaxial wafers |
| Revenue |  £167.5 million (2021) |
 £−72.9 million (2021) | |
| £−74.5 million (2021) | |
| Total assets | £296.1 million (2021) |
| Total equity | £175.1 million (2021) |
Number of employees | 685 (end 2021) |
| Website | iqep |
| Footnotes / references [1] | |
IQE PLC is a British semiconductor company founded 1988 in Cardiff, Wales, which manufactures advanced epitaxial wafers.
The company is headquartered in Cardiff with an Innovation Centre and factories in Newport, Wales, Cardiff, Wales and Milton Keynes in the United Kingdom; Taunton, Massachusetts, Greensboro, North Carolina, and Spokane, Washington in the United States; and Taiwan in Asia.[2]
History
IQE was founded by Drew Nelson and Michael Scott in 1988 as Epitaxial Products International (EPI). Initially, the company specialised in producing epitaxial wafers for optoelectronic devices used primarily in fiber-optic communication. Metal Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition (MOCVD) technology was used to produce semiconductor lasers, light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and photodetectors designed to operate at wavelengths of 1300 nm and 1550 nm utilised for long distance fiber-optic communications.[3]
In 1999, Epitaxial Products International merged with Pennsylvania-based Quantum Epitaxial Designs (QED) to form IQE.[4] QED was founded by Tom Hierl.[5]
Also in 1999, the newly merged entity underwent an initial public offering (IPO) on the European EASDAQ (NASDAQ Europe) stock exchange, followed a year later by a listing on the London Stock Exchange.[citation needed]
The merger with QED brought to the group a range of new manufacturing tools based on molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) technology and a range of products for the wireless telecommunications. Following the merger, IQE became the first independent outsource manufacturer of both optoelectronic and radio frequency (RF) epitaxial wafers produced using both MOCVD and MBE technologies. The Bethlehem facility specialised in a number of wireless products including pseudomorphic high electron mobility transistors (pHEMTs) and metal semiconductor field-effect transistors (MESFETs).[citation needed]
In 2000, the company formed a new, wholly owned subsidiary company specialising in silicon based epitaxy. IQE Silicon was established in a new facility adjacent to the group's headquarters and European manufacturing base in Cardiff, Wales, UK. The new subsidiary used chemical vapor deposition (CVD) tools to produce silicon and germanium epitaxial wafers for enhanced silicon processing performance, microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) and nanotechnology applications.[6]
Also in 2000, the group acquired Wafer Technology based in Milton Keynes, UK. The acquisition provided the group with in-house production of gallium arsenide (GaAs) and indium phosphide (InP) substrates as well as adding capabilities for gallium antimonide (GaSb) and indium antimonide (InSb) for infrared applications.[7]
In 2006, the Group acquired the Electronic Materials Division from Emcore, providing IQE with its second US operation based in Somerset, NJ. This acquisition added further MOCVD capacity and complementary radio frequency (RF) products including heterojunction bipolar transistors (HBTs) and bipolar field-effect transistors (BiFETs).[8]
Also in 2006, the group made a further acquisition in the form of Singapore based MBET technologies which provided the group with complete multi-site, multi-technology and multi-product capabilities to form the world's largest independent contract manufacturer of epitaxial wafers.[9] In 2009 the group added new free-standing gallium nitride (GaN) substrate capability with the acquisition of NanoGaN, a spin out start-up from the University of Bath.[10][11]
In 2012, IQE Group acquired Galaxy Compound Semiconductors, based in Spokane, Washington, US, and MBE epitaxy manufacturing unit of RFMD, based in Greensboro, North Carolina, US.[12]
The company made a stock exchange announcement on 12 November 2018 that shipments of its product would be materially reduced, also materially affecting profitability, causing the share price to plunge.[13]
The joint venture CSDC was acquired by IQE in October 2019. IQE had held 51% of shares through MBE Technologies at the time it was formed in March 2015.[14][15]
Products
IQE produces epitaxial wafers from gallium arsenide (GaAs), gallium nitride (GaN) as well as indium phosphide (InP) and silicon. The wafers made from GaAs and GaN have a diameter of 8 inches and can be used for MicroLED displays, while the 6 inch InP wafers are aimed at electro-optic devices.[16][17][18]
References
- ^ "IQE plc Annual Report & Accounts 2022" (PDF). IQE. Retrieved 4 July 2023.
- ^ "Sites | IQE Corporate". www.iqep.com. 2025-02-26. Retrieved 2025-02-26.
- ^ "Sites | IQE Corporate". www.iqep.com. 2025-02-26. Retrieved 2025-02-26.
- ^ "IQE plc — the world's leading merchant epiwafer supplier". III-Vs Review. 14: 10–11. 2000-01-01. doi:10.1016/S0961-1290(01)80012-0. ISSN 0961-1290.
- ^ "IQE Loses CTO, COO". EDN. 2003-03-10. Retrieved 2023-12-20.
- ^ "IQE Announce The Formation Of IQE Silicon Compounds - News". Compound Semiconductor. 2000-11-30. Retrieved 2023-12-20.
- ^ "IQE ACQUIRES WAFER TECHNOLOGY LIMITED - News". Compound Semiconductor. 2000-11-23. Retrieved 2023-12-20.
- ^ "IQE closes acquisition of EMD after raising £12m". www.semiconductor-today.com. 2006-08-21. Retrieved 2023-12-20.
- ^ "IQE acquires Singapore epiwafer foundry MBE Technology for £7.5m". www.semiconductor-today.com. 2006-12-22. Retrieved 2023-12-21.
- ^ "IQE to Acquire NanoGaN". www.photonics.com. 2009-10-06. Retrieved 2023-12-21.
- ^ "IQE to acquire UK developer of GaN wafer technology". LEDs Magazine. 2009-10-05. Retrieved 2023-12-21.
- ^ "IQE buys infrared firm, raises 21 mln s". reuters.com. 2010-09-30. Retrieved 2023-12-20.
- ^ Arathi S Nair (12 November 2018). "Apple supplier IQE warns on full-year results". Reuters.
- ^ "IQE acquires full ownership of CSDC joint venture". www.semiconductor-today.com. 2019-10-10. Retrieved 2024-03-11.
- ^ "UK's IQE to take over Singapore joint venture". reuters.com. 2019-10-10. Retrieved 2024-03-11.
- ^ "IQE announces 200mm RGB epitaxy for MicroLEDs". compoundsemiconductor.net. 2023-05-24. Retrieved 2024-08-03.
- ^ "IQE launches first 6" InP DFB laser platform for AI and data-center applications". semiconductor-today.com. 2023-10-03. Retrieved 2024-08-03.
- ^ "IQE adds to silicon wafer types". edn.com. 2008-08-13. Retrieved 2024-08-03.
