Soon, training in microchip designing at Mohali

Vijay C Roy

Tribune News Service

Mohali, December 6

Soon, Mohali in Punjab will be on the global map as one of the first movers in India to impart training in microchip designing and fabrication.

Taking a step in this direction, the state government signed an MoU with Semi Conductor Lab, the only organisation which is engaged in manufacturing microchips in India.

A microchip has electronic circuits on it and can hold large quantities of information or perform mathematical and logical operations. They are smaller than a fingernail and packed with itty-bitty electronic parts. These parts are hundreds of times thinner than hair on the head.

The Mohali-based Semi Conductor Laboratory (SCL), an autonomous society under the Department of Space, signed an MoU with Software Technology Parks of India (Mohali) and the Punjab Government for setting up a Centre of Excellence (CoE) in microelectronics and ASIC (Application-specific integrated circuit) design for the development of electronic design and manufacturing ecosystem in the state.

According to the MoU, SCL will provide technical guidance and mentorship to the Centre of Excellence (CoE).

“This is a unique initiative as currently, nowhere in India, we have microchip designing and fabrication facility. The MoU will give boost to startups and the young generation who will learn how to design a micro-chip and fabricate it,” said Dr Omkar Rai, Director General, STPI.

The CoE will undertake research and development in the areas of Advanced VLSI (Very-large-scale integration) device fabrication, MEMS (micro- electromechanical system) fabrication, VLSI device or MEMS characterisation, VLSI/CMOS/CMOS-RF circuit and MEMS design, VLSI device modelling at SCL and STPI (Mohali).