The first 'fab' step forward

India's first chip fabrication plant marks a pivotal step towards self-reliance in electronics. Here is how it will impact the communication sector

- VERNIKA AWAL

OIn 29th February, the Union Cabinet approved the proposal for India's first commercial semiconductor chip fabrication plant. Under this proposal, Tata Electronics Private Limited (TEPL), a Tata Group firm, is partnering with Taiwan-headquartered Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (PSMC) to establish a chipmaking facility, commonly known as a fab, in Dholera, Gujarat.

The decision to establish this chipmaking plant has set in motion India's first commercial chip development plan, expected to start delivering the first chips approximately three years from now. In light of this, Voice&Data delves deeper into the potential impact of this chip fab on the overall networking and IT hardware industry, which in turn powers India's communications operations.

WHY A CHIP FAB IS IMPORTANT

A chip fab is crucial as it takes semiconductor wafers and transforms them into chipsets and processors.

These chips are typically categorised into various 'nodes', which denote the size of a single semiconductor chip. Smaller chips often indicate more advanced technology-modern smartphones, for example, utilise chips as tiny as 3nm (nanometers).

Upon completion, the joint venture plant by TEPL and PSMC will manufacture three billion chips annually across four nodes or sizes-28nm, 50nm, 55nm, and 90nm. Although none of these nodes are new per sefor instance, commercialisation of the 90nm chip node happened over two decades ago in 2003-yet, each of these nodes is still of immense strategic importance.