How can universities and industry team up to build engineers ready for real-world design, fab operations, and advanced manufacturing? Answering this question, Vaidya Bharadwaj from Tokyo Electron Limited (TEL) India Project tells EFY’s Vidushi Saxena everything from unlocking hands-on training to career opportunities for future chip talent.
Q. To begin with, could you outline what TEL does at a fundamental level?
A. Tokyo Electron Limited (TEL) was founded in 1963. We supply semiconductor production equipment to leading-edge fabs worldwide. TEL manufactures and provides both front-end wafer processing tools and back-end packaging equipment, covering the entire semiconductor production spectrum. We are unique in offering all four sequential process tools: lithography (clean track), deposition, etch, and cleaning, enabling complete integrated process modules. Our clean track systems complement every ASML scanner in fabs worldwide, while our advanced packaging and testing solutions support back-end operations. TEL’s comprehensive portfolio makes us a key partner in the global semiconductor industry.
Q. Are you an original equipment manufacturer (OEM)?
A. Yes, we are. Our company is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. We have factories in Miyagi, Yamanashi, Iwate and Kyushu in Japan, as well as a facility in Chaska, Minnesota, in the United States (US). We manufacture a wide range of products, and each factory focuses on specific types of tools. For example, the Miyagi factory, recently visited by Prime Minister Modi, manufactures etching systems. Our thin film deposition systems are manufactured in Yamanashi and Iwate. Clean track systems, wet clean systems and advanced packaging tools are manufactured in Kyushu.
Q. How much do you invest in your machinery? There must be tons of machinery used in your manufacturing plants.
A. We develop, design and manufacture the systems, a system comprises ‘process chamber/reactor’, wafer transportation and so on. We have a wide network of suppliers to manufacture the parts in accordance with our specifications and roadmaps. We then assemble, test, and ship the tools to our customers. Our factory floors are primarily focused on assembly and testing. Each part we gather is a machine in itself. We work with over 2000 suppliers worldwide, with most precision parts manufactured in Japan. For instance, our generators and chillers come from different countries, and each is a complex part of the supply chain that we assemble. Our primary investment, however, is in research and development (R&D). We invest in new tools, process techniques, engineers, and now also in artificial intelligence (AI) and related technologies.
Q. How do you leverage AI and IoT in your products?
A. It works both ways. AI and the Internet of Things (IoT) create business opportunities for us. At the same time, we also apply them in our own R&D. For example, the recent rise in graphics processing units (GPUs), central processing units (CPUs), and memory stacks is driving greater demand for high-performance computing. This drives demand for more chips, which in turn increases the need for our tools. On the demand side, this creates new business opportunities. At the same time, we use AI and IoT within our own processes. Our designs and process techniques are complex, so we constantly need to innovate. We use AI for modelling and simulation, including analysing tool performance, and employ these techniques to improve the performance of the next-generation tools.
Q. How is TEL contributing to India’s semiconductor mission?
A. We are focusing on three main pillars in India. The first, and foremost, is customer support. We have a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Tata Electronics, which represents a significant opportunity for us to engage with India. Together with Tata, we plan to establish infrastructure to support their fab, ensuring that our tools perform at the highest levels. This will help them manufacture complex chips efficiently.
We are building a robust support structure to assist Tata both during the startup phase and in sustaining its fabs over the long term. Unlike industries such as automotive or process manufacturing, semiconductor tools require continuous evolution and improvement. As a result, we expect to work with Tata for decades, ensuring ongoing optimisation and innovation.
The second pillar is our own engineering support and development. India has significant talent potential, especially among university graduates. We aim to upskill and train engineers to help us innovate the next generation of solutions for customers worldwide. To support this, we are establishing an offshore development centre in Bengaluru, with a foundational team in the next two to three years, gradually scaling toward a global capability centre model by 2030.
The third pillar is building a talent pipeline through collaboration with universities. This will feed both our customer support and development efforts, including our global operations in Japan. We are already engaged with institutions like the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay and Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, but we plan to expand further. Our goal is to work with top talent across India, engage with multiple universities and research labs, and steadily grow this ecosystem over the next two to three years.
Q. How can students access talent and innovations in the semiconductor industry?
A. Many students, not just in India but worldwide, assume that only electronics or electrical engineering can lead to a career in semiconductors. That is not true. The semiconductor value chain requires a wide variety of engineering skills. You see, a customer like Tata may need device engineers, who are usually electronic or electrical engineers. On the fab side, where our equipment is used, we need many mechanical engineers to maintain the tools and robots, as well as electrical and electro-mechanical engineers. In our process division, where most of our intellectual property (IP) and solutions lie, we require chemical engineers. On the R&D side, we use plasma reactors and perform plasma simulations, which require physics graduates.
This industry demands a diverse range of talent. I would encourage students to explore all these opportunities and not limit themselves. They should connect what is happening in the world with how semiconductors are enabling change. AI is just the beginning; over the next five to ten years, semiconductor technology will become even more pervasive. This is a huge opportunity to apply scientific knowledge and create world-class products.
Finally, students should also understand the semiconductor supply chain. Beyond design, there is device manufacturing, fab operations, system integration, and chemical or materials production. Even a basic understanding of who does what will help students interact effectively with the industry when they start their careers.
Q. Are you also into semiconductor testing, and what are its applications?
A. Yes, we also manufacture probes used for testing in outsourced semiconductor assembly and test (OSAT). In the semiconductor process, the front end is where wafers are processed. Once the wafer is ready, it is important to identify which dies are good and which are defective. Suppose, if a wafer has a thousand chips, not all of them will meet specifications. Maybe 900 perform correctly while 100 do not.
Before dicing and packaging, testers and probers help determine which dies are functional and which are not. This allows manufacturers to focus on the good dies and discard the faulty ones. Testing also helps customers improve their processes. For instance, if they are achieving 900 functional dies per wafer, testing helps them identify ways to improve yield to 950. We provide testing solutions for both front-end and back-end processes to help inspect and optimise semiconductor production.
Q. Are there any challenges you face in the Indian market, and how is the government supporting TEL’s growth?
A. We are not currently facing significant challenges, but we do anticipate some infrastructure-related hurdles. However, both the government of India and the government of Gujarat are actively preparing to support industry participants by developing the necessary infrastructure. In the short term, there may be some challenges, but in the long term, there is a strong understanding between the government and the industry to foster growth.
The government is playing a key role in enabling TEL’s expansion. For instance, the approval of ten semiconductor projects in India provides a clear market opportunity for us. Additionally, the government is creating logistics infrastructure and an ecosystem for electronics, enabling us to bring our solutions to market. While much of the support is indirect, it allows us to participate more actively in India. Moving forward, we also expect greater direct collaboration with the government in areas such as R&D and support for future fabs.
Q. What are your expansion plans in India, and how do you plan to take them forward?
A. On the customer support side, Tata is our lead customer. As an anchor customer, we plan to build infrastructure, including training facilities, parts warehouses, and support centres, in Dholera. As more customers enter India in the future, we plan to create similar support structures around their fabs, leveraging our experience from Tata to guide these expansions.
Beyond customer support, we also plan to increase our R&D footprint in India. Currently, our development support is in Bengaluru, but we may expand further in the future. This will require a full spectrum of engineers, including mechanical, software, electrical, and AI specialists. Our goal is to build a foundational team that will grow over time, creating both direct and indirect employment opportunities in India.
The expansion will generate a wide range of jobs, not only for engineers but also for logistics, infrastructure, and support services such as hotels and training facilities. Initially, we expect to have over 200 engineers, and as Tata potentially expands with additional fabs, this number could grow to several hundred.
These are long-term, sustainable, and high-quality jobs with specialised training. The skills acquired will be valued globally, and there is strong demand for these engineers not only in India but worldwide.
