Canada bolsters semiconductor and photonics industries

Recognizing that disruptions in semiconductor supply can impact on all sectors of the economy, the government of Canada announced the Semiconductor Challenge Callout, a fund of $150 million through the Strategic Innovation Fund to make targeted investments to build on Canada’s domestic semiconductor industry.

According to government officials, the challenge represents an initial commitment to invest in projects that reinforce and scale up the Canadian semiconductor ecosystem, with a priority placed on research, commercialization and expanding manufacturing capacity.

In addition to the challenge, the federal government has also committed $90 million for the National Research Council’s Canadian Photonics Fabrication Centre (CPFC). The investment will fund equipment upgrades to improve the centre’s capacity and capability, the government said.

Currently, the CPFC is the only compound semiconductor foundry in North America that is publicly operated and open to all for use. The centre offers photonics device fabrication services to the research and private industry, including telecommunications, environmental sensing, automotive, defense and aerospace.
https://nrc.canada.ca