The University of Glasgow's commercial nanofabrication company, which makes electron-beam lithography, quantum components and photonic parts at the James Watt Nanofabrication Centre.
Kelvin Nanotechnology, usually called KNT, is a company owned by the University of Glasgow that makes extremely small structures, a field called nanofabrication. It specialises in high-resolution electron-beam lithography, a technique that draws patterns far smaller than a human hair on to a surface using a focused beam of electrons. Customers use it for laser gratings, transistor gates, photonic crystals and optical parts. For quantum technology it makes components such as magneto-optical trap gratings, 3D micro ion traps and the Wee-g portable gravimeter, a small sensor that measures gravity.
KNT was created by the university by 1997 to commercialise its electron-beam expertise. The James Watt Nanofabrication Centre (JWNC), the university's cleanroom, opened in 2006, and KNT acts as its commercial interface. Brendan Casey joined in 2000 as an engineer, became business manager in 2003 and chief executive in 2011. In a published interview he talked about leadership being lonely and said that he would be less risk-averse if starting again. We found no formal mission statement.
KNT works from the JWNC in Glasgow, Scotland. The centre has a 1,200 square metre cleanroom, 26 technicians and 3 research technologists, and it makes components for all four hubs of the UK National Quantum Technology Programme. KNT adds about 20 staff, and a 2026 report said it had supported more than 170 companies in 23 countries. Its partners include the National Physical Laboratory, which worked with it on the micro ion trap process. The centre is led by Professor Martin Weides.
The culture is that of a small technical business sitting next to a big university facility. In its first three years after the JWNC opened, KNT's workforce grew from 2 to 9, and today the company and the centre train people alongside more than 200 postgraduate students each year. Sivers Semiconductors' chief technology officer said that working with KNT and the JWNC gave it "rapid access to world-leading equipment and expertise", which he said sped the company's time to market by about 18 months. That is a customer's own view.
Roles include process and lithography engineers who write and run patterns, cleanroom technicians, device designers, metrology and test staff, project managers and business development staff who work with customers. Physics, electronics, materials science and engineering are all good starting points, and the work offers a chance to see many different products, from lasers to quantum sensors. Check the KNT website for current openings.
Website: www.kntnano.com
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