Packaging Industry by Sahashra semiconductor

Sahasra Semiconductors, a newly formed entity under Sahasra group are going to start semiconductor assembly and testing in India.  

Sahasra Semiconductors Private Limited (SSPL) is a Rajasthan based company and they plan to invest Rs 750 crore in setting up a memory chip assembly, test, and packaging unit in Bhiwadi. SSPL expects to become the first company to set up such a unit in India and would begin selling locally made (tested/packaged) chips by the year-end. Sahasra Semiconductors is an emerging semiconductor company in India with a focus on chip packaging.  They are in the memory business for the last five plus years and they have planned to start assembly and test for memory chips. They are also planning to add assembly and testing for LED driver chips in the future. The building and clean room are ready and purchase order of all major tools are in place. They are planning to have low-volume production by Q1 2023. SSPL is going to be a manufacturing house that will provide both Outsourced Semiconductor Assembly and Testing (OSAT) services for others as well as Assembly, Testing, Marking, and Packaging (ATMP) for themselves. They have obtained approval of the PLI, SPECS, and customised incentive from the state government for NAND Flash Memory packaging and testing. The LED driver packaging, which is in the pipeline for extension, will also be their first product that will be completely designed, developed, and assembled in India (except the fabrication). SSPL will be focusing on research and development too. 

Read more about Sahashra Semiconductor and their work.

Courtesy : Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay 

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Gujarat Semiconductor Policy 2022-27

Gujarat has become the first State to launch a dedicated policy for semiconductors and display manufacturing. The policy aims to generate about two lakh jobs in the next five years.  To support this goal, the Gujarat government will be setting up a ‘Semicon city’ over 5000-10,000 acres at the Dholera Special Investment Region (SIR), which will serve as a dedicated manufacturing base for the semiconductor and display fab sector. Gujarat is among India’s most industrialized states and boasts of robust infrastructure and logistics connectivity, industrial estates and specialized industrial zones, leading educational institutions, and a strong talent base. The Gujarat Semiconductor Policy 2022-27 will facilitate eligible projects during the land allotment stage, expedite approvals processes, improve access to utilities like power, water, and gas besides industrial infrastructure, and offer a support package of fiscal incentives.

Read the details of the policy

Courtesy : Miguel-á-Padriñán , Pixabay from www.pexels.com

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ISRO and IISC in Chip Making

India’s two top most institutes ISRO and IISC are all set to join the new found wave of  atmanirvarta in chip making with new hope and energy. ISRO has a chip making facility at Semiconductor Laboratory (SCL)in Chandigarh. They are planing to build an additional fab to meet the growing demand for chip sets for rockets and satellites as it opens up the space sector to private firms and startups. SCL has a 180-nanometre facility that produces chips for strategic purposes. SCL and the Semiconductor Technology and Applied Research Centre (SITAR) in Bengaluru, which has a 100-nanometre unit, also make micro-electro mechanical systems (MeMs) and sensors that have applications in critical areas. SITAR also runs a Gallium Arsenide Enabling Technology Centre (GAETEC) in Hyderabad. ISRO is looking to build chips with 65-nanometre technology in the new fab. ISRO’s Vikram processor which is crucial for navigation and guidance control of rockets is definitly a success story. ISRO’s  collaboration with IITs to build homegrown chips for Navic receivers that will increase the accuracy of navigation across remote corners of the country, will spur demand for mass manufacturing.  The space agency is also looking at opportunities in the private sector, where startups and large companies are looking to build rockets, satellites and ground equipment that require chip sets to improve their performance.

Separately, a team at the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru is awaiting approval for its project to build Gallium Nitride Semiconductors, which includes building the chips and also systems for applications in power electronics and radio frequency electronics used for cell phone towers in 5G applications. 

Courtesy : Pixabay from www.pexels.com

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B.E/B.Tech Course in VLSI design and technology

All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has approved institutions to offer two new diploma and undergraduate level courses in the field of engineering and technology. The courses include diploma in IC manufacturing and BTech or BE in electronic engineering (VLSI design and technology). The decision has been made in view of creating a manufacturing ecosystem of the semiconductor mission under the Program for Development of Semiconductor and Display and to prepare Indian aspirants 'market-ready'.

AICTE said in a letter to all Vice Chancellors and heads of technical institutions, 

“With reference to the Program for development of semiconductors and display manufacturing ecosystem in India as approved by the Cabinet, it is pertinent that the aspirations of India to set up semi-conductors and display manufacturing ecosystem would require market ready talent pool in the field of semi conductors and display which ultimately would require a clear roadmap of capacity building”.

Institutions who are interested will be eligible to start the couses only when they satisfy the conditions mentioned in Approval Process Handbook (APH) 2022-2023. 

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