Lancaster University spinout Quinas Technology and global semiconductor company IQE have announced the successful completion of a project to develop a scalable production method for the world’s first quantum-powered universal memory ULTRARAM™.

Innovate UK awarded the consortium, which included Lancaster and Cardiff Universities, a grant for the £1.1M project, with Quinas coordinating and the majority of funding deployed with IQE.

The project saw IQE successfully scale up the manufacture of compound semiconductor layers initially developed by Lancaster University to an industrial process, the first step towards the commercial production of packaged ULTRARAM™ chips. In doing so, IQE developed an advanced capability in gallium antimonide and aluminium antimonide epitaxy, representing a world-first for scalable epitaxy for memory devices.

Quinas Chief Technology Officer and project coordinator Dr Peter Hodgson said: “The successful completion of this Innovate UK-funded project marks a major milestone in ULTRARAM’s path to commercialisation, bringing this groundbreaking memory technology significantly closer to market readiness. Over an intensive 12-month period, the consortium has made remarkable progress.

“With vital technical support from Lancaster and Cardiff Universities, IQE successfully developed an industrially scalable process for producing ULTRARAM wafers on 6-inch substrates – an essential step toward cost-effective memory chip manufacturing. At the same time, Quinas Technology engaged with global manufacturing partners and prospective customers, laying the groundwork for future commercial deployment.”

ULTRARAM™, a dual-use technology invented at Lancaster University, combines the non-volatility of a data storage memory, such as flash, with the speed and endurance of a working memory, such as DRAM, while providing significantly improved energy efficiency. ULTRARAM™ target applications will include artificial intelligence, quantum computing, space and defence.

Jessica Wenmouth, Lancaster University’s Head of Research Commercialisation, said: “The ULTRARAM™ project is a powerful example of how targeted innovation funding and collaborative partnerships can rapidly accelerate the development of breakthrough technologies.

“At Lancaster, we’ve been proud to support the commercialisation journey of this pioneering memory technology, from early-stage research to scalable industrial processes. By working closely with Quinas Technology, IQE, and Cardiff University, we’ve helped lay the foundations for ULTRARAM™ to transition from the lab towards real-world applications, reinforcing the UK’s leadership in next-generation semiconductor innovation.”

The partners are now exploring further industrialisation and pilot production with foundries and strategic collaborators.

Jutta Meier, Chief Executive Officer of IQE, said: “We have successfully achieved our goal of developing a scalable epitaxy process for ULTRARAM™, a milestone towards industrial production of packaged chips. This project represents a unique opportunity to bring the next generation of compound semiconductor materials to life in the UK, and we are proud of our work with Quinas, Lancaster, and Cardiff Universities to advance commercial production and create world-leading universal memory devices.”