In today’s technology-driven world, the electronics industry is constantly evolving, and the demand for smaller, faster and more efficient devices continues to grow and Semiconductors are at the heart of all electronic products and constitute a significant share in the Bill of Material (BoM). However, behind making the semiconductor involves complex processes which start with the processing of essential raw materials i.e. silica sand into silicon through a difficult process involving high temperatures and chemical. Silicon Valley, USA where the semiconductor industry first started earned its name reportedly from “silicon”, the raw material for semiconductors, and “valley” from the Santa Clara Valley. It is a great gift of mother earth that Silicon is rich in supply, being the most abundant element in nature while also being environment friendly. It is important for people of Assam and the North East to understand the kind of dynamics that the Jagiroad Semi-Conductor Assembly unit will bring to the region. Silicon extracted from sand is purified & heated until it melts into a high purity liquid and then gets solidified by crystallization to get silicon rod, which is called ingots. The shape of ingots is like a spinning top which are then sliced into thin, disc-shaped object of uniform thickness using sharp diamond blades. The thinner and larger diameter wafer results in lower manufacturing cost for production of greater number of semiconductor chips per wafer. It is precisely why the competition in the industry is growing for production of increasingly thinner and larger wafer.
The next step involves wafers processed to obtain mirror-like finish to avoid even miniscule of defects. The idea is to get polished wafer or bare wafer for fabrication of chips, which again involves complex and high precision process i.e. Oxidation to add Silicon oxide coating on the wafer surface for drawing circuit on the surface which is known as photolithography. The circuit pattern is kept while the remaining area is cut off via etching process for building the semiconductor structure. The structure so created is then protected and distinguishes from each other via a thin film and given electrical properties followed by metallic wiring to establish electrical connectivity amongst the circuits. The wiring is followed by the crucial phase known as Packaging i.e. the process of making paths for semiconductor chips to exchange signal externally and incorporation of other safety measures to protect it from other external factors for efficient operation.
It is a chip package inside a desktop, laptop, server, phone and, may be, in the not so distant future inside brains of living beings as piloted by Neuralink
The upcoming Tata Semiconductor plant at Jagiroad, most likely, will play a major role in packing of the chips. It will not only create a huge value chain in semiconductor supply industry globally but will contribute significantly to the India’s dream of creation of semiconductor market opportunity of $110 billion by 2030. Since semiconductor industry is an input to electronics industry, therefore the electronics manufacturing in the country needs to grow faster. The revised programme of the Government of India envisages a $30 billion support to make India a leading production house of electronics with core focus areas like Semiconductor and Display Fab, Support for electronics manufacturing and support for allied sectors, which includes industry like advanced chemistry cell, automobile components, telecom & networking, solar PV and white goods. Assam is proud to have a dynamic and visionary Chief Minister in the form of Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma without whose leadership the Tata Semi Conductor plant in the State would have been a distant dream. One is hopeful that under his leadership, the State will also see a development in electronics manufacturing clusters as well high computing cloud infrastructure to support the eco-system, generate investment into the State and boost meaningful employment. In turn, this is likely to create the next generation entrepreneurs and starts-ups.
The world of computing is going through an incredible change as computers are learning to write their own software powered by powerful AI/ML algorithm. Emerging GPU ecosystem will bring huge changes to data centres, desktops, laptops and edge-based AI, also known as on-device AI, where data processing occurs directly on the device such as mobile phone, cars, IoT devices, network devices
by 2030. It is estimate that one million additional workers with diverse skill sets will be needed to meet industry demand. The talent pipeline should be developed via a dedicated programme for emerging smart professionals from Assam. The idea of adding skilling to the industry vertical will also go a long way in ensuring that IT-Industry-Skills make a triad to power not only growth but also entrepreneurship and jobs in the State and the region.
Our students, entrepreneurs and academia of the State, in particular, must “Chip In! for producing next generation semiconductor executives from the State.
(The writer is an IT consultant)
