28 May 2014

SPTS gifts £600,000 worth of BluGlass shares to Swansea University

Plasma etch, deposition and thermal wafer processing equipment maker SPTS Technologies Ltd of Newport, Wales, UK has gifted Swansea University more than £600,000 worth of shares in BluGlass Ltd of Silverwater, Australia.

Spun off from the III-nitride department of Macquarie University of Sydney, Australia in 2005, BluGlass developed a low-temperature process using remote-plasma chemical vapor deposition (RPCVD) to grow materials including gallium nitride (GaN) and indium gallium nitride (InGaN) on glass substrates, potentially offering cost, throughput and efficiency advantages for the production of LEDs and concentrated solar cells.

“SPTS has strong ties with Swansea University, and has benefited from the knowledge exchange projects through the University’s Department of Research and Innovation (DRI),” says SPTS’ CEO William Johnson. “The DRI, which acts as the bridge between industry and academia, has enabled us to extend the scope of our research beyond our existing markets and gain access to funding, which has proven invaluable to our R&D teams,” he adds. “This gift of shares in BluGlass is our way to pay back by ‘paying it forward’ to the University in not just the current value of the shares but the potential future value of BluGlass and the opportunities for potential collaboration between Swansea University, BluGlass and Sydney’s Macquarie University.”

Current collaboration with Swansea University includes a project funded by the UK’s Technology Strategy Board (TSB) for the development of micro-needles for bio-medical applications. The project, which includes process equipment from SPTS for the University’s cleanroom facility, was instrumental in developing a design for manufacturing quality packaged micro-needles, which are achieving a 100% success rate in initial testing.

“Swansea University are absolutely delighted by this gift and indeed with the highly successful and ongoing collaboration with SPTS and the University’s College of Engineering, particularly the work being done with Dr Owen Guy, associate professor,” comments Dr Gerry Ronan, head of IP at Swansea University. “As a University we pride ourselves on our ability to collaborate with industry and this is an enlightened and most welcome way of strengthening such relationships,” he adds.

“SPTS is at the forefront of micro-device process and manufacturing technology, and we remain committed to investing in R&D to ensure market competitiveness and industry sustainability,” says Johnson. “Our gift to Swansea University underpins our ongoing commitment to supporting the success of the Department of Research and Innovation, and we are proud to be able to support future generations of engineers and researchers at this world-class research-led institution.”

Tags: SPTS BluGlass RPCVD

Visit: www.spts.com

Visit: www.bluglass.com.au

Visit: www.swansea.ac.uk/research_innovation