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The Semi-Conductor Laboratory, Mohali (SCL) is a research institute under
The Semi-Conductor Laboratory, Mohali (SCL) is a research institute under Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) is an executive agency of the Union Government of the Republic of India. It was carved out of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology on 19 July 2016 as a standalo ...
(MeitY), Government of India
The Government of India ( ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...
(formerly under Department Of Space
The Department of Space is an Indian government department responsible for administration of the Indian space program. It manages several agencies and institutes related to space exploration and space technologies. The Indian space program und ...
). Its aims include research and development in the field of semiconductor
A semiconductor is a material which has an electrical conductivity value falling between that of a conductor, such as copper, and an insulator, such as glass. Its resistivity falls as its temperature rises; metals behave in the opposite way. ...
technology.
SCL had its origin as the ''Semiconductor Complex Limited'', a public sector undertaking
A state-owned enterprise (SOE) is a government entity which is established or nationalised by the ''national government'' or ''provincial government'' by an executive order or an act of legislation in order to earn profit for the governmen ...
of the Government of India
The Government of India ( ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...
. It came under the administrative control of the Department of Space in March 2005 and has since undergone organisational restructuring to become focused on research and development
Research and development (R&D or R+D), known in Europe as research and technological development (RTD), is the set of innovative activities undertaken by corporations or governments in developing new services or products, and improving existi ...
. The society was registered in November 2005.
Main objective of SCL is to undertake, aid, promote, guide and coordinate the R&D in the field of semiconductor technology, Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) and process technologies relating to semiconductor processing in the existing 6" wafer fab. SCL has over the years developed and supplied a number of key VLSIs, majority of which have been Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs) for high reliability applications in industrial and space sectors. Steps have been initiated to upgrade the facilities to fabricate devices in 0.25 micron or better technology.
The Semi-Conductor Laboratory is responsible for design and development of very-large-scale integration
Very large-scale integration (VLSI) is the process of creating an integrated circuit (IC) by combining millions or billions of MOS transistors onto a single chip. VLSI began in the 1970s when MOS integrated circuit (Metal Oxide Semiconductor) ...
(VLSI) devices and development of systems for the telecommunication
Telecommunication is the transmission of information by various types of technologies over wire, radio, optical, or other electromagnetic systems. It has its origin in the desire of humans for communication over a distance greater than tha ...
and space sectors. SCL has facilities for fabrication of micro-electronic devices in 0.8 micrometre
The micrometre ( international spelling as used by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures; SI symbol: μm) or micrometer ( American spelling), also commonly known as a micron, is a unit of length in the International System of ...
range and Micro Electro Mechanical Systems
Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), also written as micro-electro-mechanical systems (or microelectronic and microelectromechanical systems) and the related micromechatronics and microsystems constitute the technology of microscopic devices, ...
. Facilities to fabricate advanced devices in 0.35 micrometre range are planned.
SCL, through its in-house R&D efforts has developed 3 micron, 2 micron, 1.2 micron and 0.8 micron CMOS technologies as well specialized technologies such as EEPROM and CCD. SCL has over the years developed and supplied a number of key VLSIs, majority of which have been ASICs for high reliability and industrial applications.
IIT Madras
Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) is a public technical university located in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. As one of the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), it is recognized as an Institute of National Importance and has ...
uses SCL as a primary foundry
A foundry is a factory that produces metal castings. Metals are cast into shapes by melting them into a liquid, pouring the metal into a mold, and removing the mold material after the metal has solidified as it cools. The most common metals ...
to tapeout SHAKTI
In Hinduism, especially Shaktism (a theological tradition of Hinduism), Shakti (Devanagari: शक्ति, IAST: Śakti; lit. "Energy, ability, strength, effort, power, capability") is the primordial cosmic energy, female in aspect, and rep ...
processors using its 180 nm technology process.
Fab upgrade
The Department of Space (DoS) planned to upgrade SCL to produce chips of 0.18 micrometre (180 nanometre) size from the old 0.8 micrometres. Starting in 2010, SCL has upgraded to 8" wafer fab to produce chips of 0.18 micrometer (180 nanometre) CMOS process as made available byTower Semiconductor
Tower Semiconductor Ltd. is an Israeli company that manufactures integrated circuits using specialty process technologies, including SiGe, BiCMOS, Silicon Photonics, SOI, mixed-signal and RFCMOS, CMOS image sensors, non-imaging sensors, powe ...
, Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
.
Modernization Efforts
As part of governments $10 billion incentive package to build a semiconductor ecosystem in the country, the government is likely to pursue its efforts to modernize and commercialize the brownfield semiconductor chip fabrication facility of SCL through a joint venture.SCL Mohali has also been handed over to MeitY from Department of Space and it is being opened up as a commercial fab for wider participation by Indian semiconductor design companies. This is expected to strengthen India’s quest for AtmaNirbhar Bharat in semiconductors.References