IDSPS Articles

India is making significant strides in establishing its domestic semiconductor manufacturing footprint. While mega-fabs capture global headlines, the initial catalyst for self-reliance lies in OSAT (Outsourced Semiconductor Assembly and Test) and ATMP (Assembly, Testing, Marking, and Packaging) ecosystems.

Why Packaging is the New Frontier:

Traditional chip scaling is reaching physical limitations. Moore's Law is slowing down, prompting the industry to pivot toward heterogeneous integration—combining multiple specialized dies into a single package (chiplets). This makes advanced packaging technologies as crucial as silicon fabrication itself.

"Advanced packaging and assembly will be the key differentiator in performance and cost for next-generation AI and mobile processors."

Infrastructure & Talent Needs:

To support this transition, India requires a highly trained workforce specialized in thermal management, signal integrity, and package co-design. IDSPS is actively working with academic hubs to establish specialized design rules and packaging courses, ensuring India is ready to lead this packaging revolution.

Historically, academic research and industrial engineering have operated in silos. Academics focus on fundamental breakthroughs and publications, while industry prioritizes time-to-market, yield rates, and commercial viability. Bridging this gap is crucial for building a sustainable semiconductor product ecosystem.

The Collaborative Model:

IDSPS has implemented a joint consortium model where industry partners define real-world design problems, and academic teams at IITs and research centers work on co-development. This approach ensures:

• Relevant Research: Academic projects focus on actual industrial challenges, such as reducing power leakage in nanometer nodes.
• IP Creation: Commercial intellectual property is co-created, allowing industry partners to license and commercialize university innovations.
• Direct Talent Pipeline: Graduate students get hands-on experience with industrial tool flows (EDA) and manufacturing constraints.

This model accelerates the transition from laboratory prototype to commercial silicon.

The fabless semiconductor model—where startups design chips but outsource manufacturing—presents a high-growth opportunity for India's emerging tech ecosystem. However, fabless design carries high entry barriers, including expensive EDA software licenses, prototyping costs (MPW runs), and deep domain expertise.

Incubation Support Framework:

IDSPS offers specialized start-up support to lower these barriers:

• Tool Access: Subsidized access to industry-standard EDA tools and layout solvers.
• MPW Prototyping: Bundling multiple startup designs onto a single multi-project wafer run, reducing prototyping costs by up to 80%.
• Mentorship & Capital: Connecting startups with experienced silicon architects and early-stage venture capital firms.

By reducing capital requirements and offering targeted mentorship, we are enabling a new wave of fabless chip designers to compete globally.