Advanced Furnace Technology (AFT) is a 40 year old company with a successful business coating and cleaning all types of graphite components used in III-V semiconductor growth furnaces. In reaction to the fast expansion of the silicon carbide (SiC) industry in the last few years, AFT has been developing a new tantalum carbide (TaC) thin film coating that could be used to extend the life of components within a SiC epitaxial growth chamber. This is an innovative technology, which will extend the lifetime of individual components, reducing downtime and maintenance cycles. Successful implementation of this technology will therefore ensure reduced costs in a critical part of the SiC supply chain, thereby helping to increase adoption of a technology that is at the forefront of making electric vehicles more efficient and affordable. With the coating technology approaching readiness, with a patent submitted to cover the core idea, AFT now require external resource to launch the new product line. In this project AFT will follow two tracks that will bring the TaC business closer to launch. The first is the engagement of two UK SMEs, Exawatt Ltd and PGC Consultancy Ltd, in the development of the TaC coating value proposition in the specific context of the SiC industry. Exawatt's proprietary SiC Market forecasts and demand models will provide a clearer picture of the addressable market for the TaC coatings, while experts in SiC technology and supply chain, PGC Consultancy will work with AFT in developing the scope of opportunity and value proposition, based on technical data from the field. The second track will expedite the experimental development period by bringing a materials science researcher onto the project. The researcher will be engaged for 6 months, with the option to become permanent at the end of their contract. This individual will be fully resourced to the TaC coating project and not shared with core business activities, therefore speeding up development timelines. Longer-term, they will train and manage a new team of process technicians as the TaC project grows and is commercialised.

Advanced Furnace Technology has been providing high quality graphite purification to the semiconductor industry for many years. Our service removes trace metals and dopants from graphite parts for use in high purity processes. Through the capabilities of the National Measurement Laboratory, this project will provide analytical data for our purification service to demonstrate the high levels of purity that we achieve for our clients. The ability to evidence our high quality purification process will be of great value to our business. The data achieved through this project will allow us to attract new business and enable us to build scale up equipment and expand in the market.

I am a passionate innovator in my family business, Advanced Furnace Technology (Aftech). Aftech is an engineering and materials science company with a reputation for innovation. For example, we have developed novel graphite cleaning, purification and coating methods that have considerably increased efficiency in the compound semiconductor industry. I am also leading by example and changing industry standards by championing women into more senior positions in Aftech. For example, through STEM science degrees and retraining our capable and bright technicians for more highly skilled roles. My vision for the company is moving into high growth sectors in line with our technical skills and scientific expertise in both chemical vapour deposition (CVD) and graphite cleaning and purification, to scale in terms of size, international trading, and the impact that we can make in the UK and globally. So far along the journey I have been awarded a UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship, where I am leading the development of a novel tantalum carbide (TaC) coating of graphite components using CVD techniques. Through the fellowship, Aftech is now moving into the very high growth silicon carbide (SiC) power market. The idea is a follow-on project from my fellowship to develop a method for removing chemical deposits from the TaC graphite parts that accumulate during SiC semiconductor growth. Due to the immaturity of the SiC supply chain, no equivalent cleaning method exists. Developing a commercial, high throughput process would extend the lifecycle of TaC graphite parts and introduce considerable efficiency in the SiC semiconductor supply chain, enabling SiC technology to evolve more quickly and meet the high demands of renewable energy markets, such as electric transport, which is expected to grow \>40% by 2027\.