| Citation | Christopher Snowden is distinguished both as an academic and industrialist, making significant technical and leadership contributions in the field of compound semiconductor devices and their application to telecommunication and radar systems. He pioneered the application of physical device modelling to the design of microwave semiconductor devices, facilitating the rapid and accurate development of new designs. He introduced process-oriented design into the US gallium arsenide microwave semiconductor industry, applying his physical modelling and design techniques to the development of high frequency power transistors and monolithic microwave integrated circuits. His introduction of a new hi-lo-hi doped MESFET structure led to immediate dramatic improvements in performance and yield, with higher breakdown voltages and power densities. This technology became the foundation for the manufacturing process at a leading microwave company in the USA. Snowden's award winning work on electro-thermal modelling was used to support the development of microwave power heterojunction bipolar transistors and high electron mobility transistors, coupling for the first time a rigorous thermal analysis of multi-cell transistors with their DC and microwave behaviour. In 1999 Professor Snowden was appointed CEO of Filtronic Compound Semiconductors, applying his expertise and innovative design concepts to high volume compound semiconductor manufacturing, leading the establishment in the UK of one of the world's first and largest 6 inch diameter wafer fabrication facilities, with exceptionally high yields, central to ensuring cost-competitiveness. |