Investment

Changes and challenges in the industry

Microelectronics is notorious for its cycles. Changing global trends in semiconductor manufacturing have created challenges to the industry. However, Scottish companies have used these challenges to create new opportunities.

Forecasts for the future are relatively optimistic with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7 percent predicted. 

Recovery in the sector is likely to be fuelled by growth in demand for new electronic products to connect consumers to the internet, each other and the world around them. For example, one forecast predicts that large-screen HDTV sales will explode to 250 million units in 2013, compared to 65 million in 2007.

Innovation in the Scottish microelectronics sector

Scotland’s main microelectronics strengths lie in the fields of analogue design, mixed signal and digital signal processing.

Scottish companies and universities are also leading the development of compound semiconductors, MEMS (micro electro mechanical systems), bioelectronics and nanotechnology.

New electronics initiatives such as speckled computing and reconfigurable processing are also being pioneered in Scotland. These are the fields which currently show the most promise.

Scotland’s competitive advantage

Compared to other western countries Scotland offers a competitive location for electronics manufacturing due to its relatively low costs and excellent stable infrastructure, which includes world-class educational institutes.

The Scottish microelectronics and design technology industry is geared towards promoting growth and attracting investment. Some of the best research facilities in the UK, and indeed the world, are to be found in the electronics sector in Scotland.

There is a high-quality infrastructure in place for the industry, which includes international and home-grown companies and a world-renowned academic sector.

Some of the leading microelectronics companies in the world have chosen to make Scotland their base. This may be due to Scotland’s exemplary business environment, attractive operating costs and large pool of experienced staff.