16 May 2000

"Model" spin out company to exploit "ground-breaking science"

A cluster of radical new technologies which could revolutionise the international microelectronics industry forms the core of a major new spin out company announced today (16 May) by the University of Dundee in partnership with the Scottish Enterprise Network.

Scotland's Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning Henry McLeish will launch AMCET Ltd as a model for the commercialisation of university research and a boost for Scotland's new knowledge economy, at a ceremony at the University of Dundee.

AMCET will exploit the commercial potential of advanced materials research by Professor James Cairns and Dr James Thomson which has implications for a range of micro-electronics industries including the manufacture of silicon chips, chemical sensors - used in everything from smoke detectors to oil refineries - and exhaust clean-up devices.

The company, which pools university intellectual property and Scottish Enterprise funding of £2.4 million, will be based on the Dundee University campus and an additional ten staff will be attracted to the project initially. Further spin out companies are expected to be generated from AMCET to exploit particular aspects of the technology.

AMCET, which represents an investment of £5.5 million in total, is the culmination of a long term project involving the University of Dundee and Scottish Enterprise Tayside to maximise the benefits of this groundbreaking science for the university, Dundee and Scotland.

A major theme of AMCET is the further development and application of a new range of materials known as organometallic compounds whose unique characteristics allow them to dramatically shrink interconnect features within silicon chips.

These compounds have the ability to be converted to high definition metal structures by irradiation using electron beams or ultra-violet light. This opens up new opportunities for miniaturisation of electronic devices and for improving their potential. The new technology is expected to form the basis of the manufacture of the next generation of electronic devices.

The special properties of organometallic compounds result from their reaction to electron beam or other irradiation. This causes the metals to "drop out" forming very high definition metal lines making the technique particularly suitable for microelectronic applications. The flexibility of the technology opens up a range of new applications and has implications for applications from silicon chips to sensors and interconnects to flat panel display systems.

"This is ground-breaking science," commented University Principal Dr Ian Graham-Bryce. "It represents a quantum leap into a tiny world. AMCET is creating the building blocks of next generation microelectronic technology. Its potential is so far reaching that the horizons can only be guessed."

Sir Ian Wood Chairman of Scottish Enterprise said: "In Scotland, we are building on the research excellence in our universities by establishing an infrastructure which will support the microelectronics industry well into the future. Innovative ways of commercialising the technology from our universities are being developed. The partnership approach which has led to the development of AMCET as a company is an excellent example of this strategy in action."

SET Chief Executive Graham McKee said: "This new approach to commercialisation is based, not just on a single scientific idea, but on a whole range of applications which will spin out to a wide range of businesses and financial opportunities. We hope AMCET will bring in royalties from new product licensing and seed spin out companies to start up in the area."

The University of Dundee owns 74% of shares in the new private company, with the remaining 26% owned by Scottish Enterprise Tayside. A board of eight directors has been formed comprising five from the University and three from Scottish Enterprise./ends

Notes for editors
Biographical notes

Websites : http://www.dundee.ac.uk/elecengphysics/mcrores.htm
http://www.dundee.ac.uk/chemistry/thomson.htm
www.microelectronics.org.uk