The government is likely to begin a feasibility study for a Rs 2,500-crore Galium Nitride semiconductor fab that has been proposed by scientists at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) and if approved, could help India revive its bets on building a local semiconductor industry.
India has two fabs — SITAR in Bengaluru and Semiconductor Laboratory in Chandigarh which builds silicon chips for strategic purposes like defence and space and not for commercial use.
The Niti Aayog backed proposal is to build a fabrication facility using Galium Nitride, a material that is commonly used in light emitting diodes or LEDs and an emerging technology, while skipping the already mature silicon-based fab technology. The IISc project includes not just building the chips, but also systems for applications in power electronics and radio frequency electronics used for cellphone towers in 5G applications and radars.
A Meity official told ET that IISc have prepared a detailed project report. It needs a different kind of appraisal —financial and sustainability and profitability.
The team has gathered expertise from design of chips to building systems for applications. The two biggest applications are power electronics and RF electronics. In RF electronics, the two most common and visible applications, one would be military radar installations, wireless towers and cellphone towers for 5G. The ecosystem for GaN in terms of devices is there.
The IISc team has submitted two proposals – the first is Rs 2,500 crore greenfield facility and managing it for five years. It includes design and roll out of a qualified product in 36 months. The second one is Rs 300 crore line in CeNSe facility and roll out of the first product in 24 months. “If we have to become leaders of this technology, the government has to fund it. That is the way they have done it in China, Taiwan and Korea. It has to be a government-funded and privately-operated company,” he said. The government is yet to finalise the funding mechanism, said the Meity official to the English Daily.
