Not just semicon chips, India to start making chip-making equipment too, says IT Min Ashwini Vaishnaw

Applied Materials invested $20 million in the centre, which will employ 500 people, as per a report by the Economic Times.

“The entire semiconductor ecosystem of fabs, ATMP units, chemicals, gases, substrate, consumables and equipment for semiconductor manufacturing will be made in India,” claimed the IT minister.

Additionally, Applied Materials announced a $400 million investment over four years to establish an engineering centre in Bengaluru for semiconductor manufacturing technology.

The minister also mentioned that agreements made during the Prime Minister’s US visit have come to fruition, including the commencement of Micron’s ATMP construction and LAM Research’s Semiverse Solutions for semiconductor engineer training.

Furthermore, Applied Materials will establish a centre in India as part of the agreements, while AMD has inaugurated a design centre in Bengaluru. These developments mark significant progress in India’s semiconductor industry.

Sonny Kunnakkat, managing director of Applied Materials’ Advanced Manufacturing Technology, Worldwide Operations, stated that the newly established facility in India will be the first private one capable of processing 300 mm wafers, a significant advancement from the previous 200 mm wafer processing capacity in the country.

While acknowledging the existence of a 300 mm processing facility at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT Kunnakkat emphasized that this new facility is commercial rather than academic. Applied Materials will conduct its own development work here, focusing on equipment for chip manufacturing, with the produced wafers not being sold but used within the company’s equipment to aid its customers in chip production.

Kunnakkat highlighted the rapid rate of equipment evolution, necessitating continuous development to address evolving customer needs. He stressed that such development will be a key focus at the new facility.

However, Kunnakkat noted that India’s semiconductor hardware ecosystem is still in its infancy. He emphasized the need for a comprehensive support ecosystem, including supply chain management, material handling, logistics, and essential utilities like water and power, to ensure the sustainability and longevity of semiconductor fabs in the country.

He further emphasized the importance of collaboration among ecosystem players to scale up semiconductor manufacturing operations in India, underscoring the necessity of such facilities on a larger scale to meet industry demands. Applied Materials is working closely with the government to facilitate this scaling process.

Regarding the operationalization of the company’s engineering centre in Bengaluru, Kunnakkat explained, “We have a ten-acre parcel of land where we intend to build it. It is a complicated facility which we’re currently designing. We don’t have people who design that in India yet. We’re bringing expertise from different parts of the globe. That is not going to happen in the next six months.”

Kunnakkat also highlighted the absence of a process engineering mindset and the lack of experience in installing and commissioning semiconductor tools in India. He mentioned that the company had to bring in individuals from Singapore and Taiwan, who specialize in these tasks, to work at its India Validation Centre.