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Britain buys semiconductor factory for defence purposes

ukdefencejournal.org.uk

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Re: Britain buys semiconductor factory for defence purposes

#41

Post by momoschili »

RyJones wrote: post #38
momoschili wrote: post #10

Seems like it was previously owned by Coherent, like some kind of III-V (specifically GaAs mentioned) photonics processes there in the past. This kind of technology is typically quite useful for lasers, LEDs, or potentially image sensors as well. Many LIDAR sensors and even light sources can notably depend on III-V semiconductor sensors. Also widely used by the telecom industry. Outside photonics definitely useful fo…

Gen III night vision relies on it; I don't know if they ever made it there, tho.

I didn't realize that! That seems like the most practical application from a defense perspective.

Re: Britain buys semiconductor factory for defence purposes

#42

Post by phil21 »

_heimdall wrote: post #30

This sure feels like yet another sign that major global powers are all gearing up for war. This could be as benign as a government ensuring that the 100 jobs aren't lost, but given everything going in in both Europe and the Middle East it sure seems like more than saving such a comparatively small number of jobs. They could have just signed large(r) contracts with the company to financially secure the company, acquis…

Based on contract ramp-ups from folks I know in sales having record years/quarters tied to the US DoD (while the rest of the sales divisions miss their numbers by huge margins) - I think that it's a foregone conclusion the powers that be expect a major uptick in hostilities sooner than later.

But that's just my opinion, man. Could also be the tail wagging the dog.

Either way, I think it's pretty clear we are moving from a unipolar world to at least a "more" multipolar world in the near to midterm future. Covid laid bare how utterly fragile the current supply chains are for almost everything from raw material to base chemicals to advanced chips and beyond in the western hemisphere - so it only makes sense for this to happen regardless.

Re: Britain buys semiconductor factory for defence purposes

#43

Post by firecall »

_heimdall wrote: post #30

This sure feels like yet another sign that major global powers are all gearing up for war. This could be as benign as a government ensuring that the 100 jobs aren't lost, but given everything going in in both Europe and the Middle East it sure seems like more than saving such a comparatively small number of jobs. They could have just signed large(r) contracts with the company to financially secure the company, acquis…

Not an expert at all, but wasn't part of The Cold War playbook to outspend the USSR?

Investing in capability isn't necessarily a signal that we expect to deploy that capability. But it does force the enemy to level up, then when that enemy runs out of money, they tend to implode.

I literally have no idea, so more than happy to be educated!

Re: Britain buys semiconductor factory for defence purposes

#44

Post by cue_the_strings »

groby_b wrote: post #36
rappatic wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Off-topic as far as the article above goes, but do you think it's more likely for global(-ish?) war to erupt because of Europe/Middle East compared to Taiwan? A lot of the discussion around global war pre-2022 was for the late 2020s when China attempts to invade Taiwan. I personally doubt the major global powers will allow the conflicts in Israel and Ukraine to escalate to Western countries actually engaging in comba…

Some major global powers (i.e. China) have a vested interest in that escalation. Having the US tied down in two other conflicts means significantly less resources. Which means Middle East and Ukraine are already part of a global-ish war. Proxy wars, so far, but in service of a larger goal. (No, I don't think China necessarily instigated, but they're sure supporting ongoing conflict) As part of that, I'd also assume t…

I'm under the impression that time is actually working for China and that they don't really require a war; they'll catch up economically soon enough (5-10y) that a war doesn't benefit them at all, and only the US would benefit from one right now, while they still have a chance of nipping their primacy in the bud.

Re: Britain buys semiconductor factory for defence purposes

#45

Post by FpUser »

sudjdkdn wrote: post #34
rappatic wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Off-topic as far as the article above goes, but do you think it's more likely for global(-ish?) war to erupt because of Europe/Middle East compared to Taiwan? A lot of the discussion around global war pre-2022 was for the late 2020s when China attempts to invade Taiwan. I personally doubt the major global powers will allow the conflicts in Israel and Ukraine to escalate to Western countries actually engaging in comba…

The most likely reason for war is to move the competition with China onto a military footing rather than an economic one. The US would win the first, and that result would help the second. If you’re seeing western powers gear up for war, it might be to secure their economic future rather than a just intervention

So they would start a war and kill people for economy's sake? In this case what make them any different from any other war criminals?

Re: Britain buys semiconductor factory for defence purposes

#46

Post by 1oooqooq »

kragen wrote: post #23

what a load of crap 'With global semiconductor demand rising, this move positions the UK to meet future technological needs, including advancements in artificial intelligence, quantum technologies, and 6G'? advancements in artificial intelligence depend on mass production of 4nm silicon cmos, not 100 people doing gallium arsenide for high-speed analog. 'quantum technologies' is vague enough to not be literally a lie…

good point. I'd bet this tech is completely useless by now (maybe used in 60s radar and night vision), the company was going to shut down, some politician saw a way to turn a news of layoffs into "I'm bringing AI to my county"

Re: Britain buys semiconductor factory for defence purposes

#47

Post by knodi »

FpUser wrote: post #45
sudjdkdn wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The most likely reason for war is to move the competition with China onto a military footing rather than an economic one. The US would win the first, and that result would help the second. If you’re seeing western powers gear up for war, it might be to secure their economic future rather than a just intervention

So they would start a war and kill people for economy's sake? In this case what make them any different from any other war criminals?

Ya just don’t buy EU or UK would start ww3. There are much smarter and better economics and influence strategies to play out that are much less bloody to its own population.

Re: Britain buys semiconductor factory for defence purposes

#48

Post by kragen »

momoschili wrote: post #33
kragen wrote: post #23

what a load of crap 'With global semiconductor demand rising, this move positions the UK to meet future technological needs, including advancements in artificial intelligence, quantum technologies, and 6G'? advancements in artificial intelligence depend on mass production of 4nm silicon cmos, not 100 people doing gallium arsenide for high-speed analog. 'quantum technologies' is vague enough to not be literally a lie…

I think this view is a bit narrow in terms of what "AI" advancements may depend on. I think it's very easy to argue that large scale AI adoption will require orders of magnitude higher bandwidth than what we currently have. It's not clear that long term electronics will win in all applications, especially with the strong resurgence in interest of photonic computing. Fundamentally, photonic platforms have much higher…

sure, it's totally possible that the advantages of photonics or optoelectronics could win out, and iii–v semiconductors are pretty important for optoelectronics, though not for pure photonic systems like second-harmonic generation. sometimes people even use gaas for that, especially historically

what are iii–v based squid qubits? google scholar is not helpful except for finding https://journals.aps.org/prresearch/pdf/10.1103/PhysRevResea.... i thought a squid was a josephson junction device made out of superconductors and insulators, not semiconductors. gaas isn't a superconductor, is it?

this doesn't sound like a quantum communication and squid research lab though. it sounds like a 50-year-old radar chip fab that's being put on life support as a pork barrel project

Re: Britain buys semiconductor factory for defence purposes

#49

Post by momoschili »

kragen wrote: post #48
momoschili wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think this view is a bit narrow in terms of what "AI" advancements may depend on. I think it's very easy to argue that large scale AI adoption will require orders of magnitude higher bandwidth than what we currently have. It's not clear that long term electronics will win in all applications, especially with the strong resurgence in interest of photonic computing. Fundamentally, photonic platforms have much higher…

sure, it's totally possible that the advantages of photonics or optoelectronics could win out, and iii–v semiconductors are pretty important for optoelectronics, though not for pure photonic systems like second-harmonic generation. sometimes people even use gaas for that, especially historically what are iii–v based squid qubits? google scholar is not helpful except for finding https://journals.aps.org/prresearch/pdf…

brain fart on my end, you're definitely correct that SQUIDS are not something demonstrated quite yet, I should have said Josephson junction, but even that seems more niche than I had thought when I wrote the comment.

Re: Britain buys semiconductor factory for defence purposes

#50

Post by makeitdouble »

_heimdall wrote: post #30

This sure feels like yet another sign that major global powers are all gearing up for war. This could be as benign as a government ensuring that the 100 jobs aren't lost, but given everything going in in both Europe and the Middle East it sure seems like more than saving such a comparatively small number of jobs. They could have just signed large(r) contracts with the company to financially secure the company, acquis…

Having access to chips independently has deep economic effects as well, and that was the trigger in most countries.

Defense though can be a much more easier talking point from a political and budgeting perspective, especially when trying to unlock an ungodly amount of money towards a potential risk.

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