Ground Reality: A 26-acre patch emerges as key hurdle to SCL Mohali's facelift

Mint

5 days ago

A 26-acre land parcel near the existing chip research and manufacturing facility, the Semi-Conductor Laboratory (SCL) in Mohali, has emerged as a potential hurdle in the Centre's plan to modernise the decades-old plant with advanced chip technology.
Owned by the Punjab government, the land was identified by the Centre-run facility over a year ago for its expansion and adding new fabrication lines. However, ongoing disputes over the land and a higher price of about ₹700-800 crore demanded by the Punjab government are causing delays to the government's plans, two officials aware of the matter said on the condition of anonymity.
'The land is seen as key for expansion due to its proximity to the existing research and manufacturing infrastructure. Essential services such as power, water, and connectivity can be expanded with the existing SCL set-up nearby, making it highly practical for expansion," the first official said, adding that the ministry of electronics and IT (MeitY) is currently evaluating the prospects.
Queries emailed to MeitY and chief secretary to the Punjab government did not elicit any response till press time.
To be sure, SCL Mohali is currently undergoing a ₹4,000-crore revamp process which involves replacement of old machine and equipment along with technology upgrade in the existing legacy semiconductor technology of 180 nanometer (nm). After this revamp, the government will begin with the process to modernise SCL Mohali by moving to lower chip nodes of 65 nm, 40 nm, and 28 nm nanometer, the official said, adding that a new tender will be invited to seek technology partners for SCL's foray into lower nodes.
The 180-nanometer process is an old chip-making technology. It is still used to make chips for satellites, space and defense systems, medical devices, micro-controllers, power management, etc. In chip-making, nanometers measure the size of tiny parts like transistors and the spaces between them on a chip. Smaller nanometers mean smaller, faster, and more power-efficient chips.
'While technology transfers are key for SCL to foray into new chip technology, land acquisition is very important for infra expansion. The Punjab government is quoting a three-times higher price for the land. Requests have also been made to them to directly hand over the land to the SCL after it is cleared for the existing disputes," the second official said.
'An Indian pre-play foundry type vision for SCL Mohali should include a diverse fab (fabrication) level node portfolio that offers multiple nodes to meet demand of diverse end-markets and also have both Capex and Opex cost structure synergies across the node mix in the fab," said Danish Faruqui, CEO of Fab Economics, a US-based boutique semiconductor fab/OSAT greenfield projects advisory and implementation consultancy.
Fabrication in semiconductors means the process of building tiny electronic components and circuits on a silicon wafer, using advanced machines, chemicals, and cleanroom environments.
'Specific nodes sub-90nm with individual capacities in SCL Mohali will bring multi-faceted synergy to develop and propel the entire nation's ecosystem towards more advanced nodes," Faruqui said, adding that SCL Mohali's expansion and modernization should aim for brownfield-driven synergies.
SCL first started manufacturing in 1984. This was three years before Taiwan's Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), which eventually became a global chip leader, set up shop. But a mysterious fire 35 years back destroyed its facilities at the 51-acre campus at Mohali and after that slow decision-making had put SCL off-track. The facility has been serving strategic sectors like space and satellites, railways, and telecom, among others by supplying them 180 nm chips.
'The current plan with SCL modernisation is to increase its capacity and to support startups and industry for R&D and prototyping," a third official said, adding that the chip design startups have already started utilising the SCL facility for prototype and limited scale manufacturing of their chips in 180 nm technology. With modernisation, the startups will be able to get their chip prototype in the advanced technology, the official said.
Currently, fabless startups that develop chip designs have to tap global entities such as TSMC, and GlobalFoundries to get even limited samples of chips before actual production can start. The same not only incurs huge costs but also limits their ability to do failure analysis, testing, and identify any challenges in manufacturing or assembly first hand.
Lately, the SCL facility has also been used by global semiconductor companies, which are setting up shops in India, for training their workforce. Last year, US-based Micron, which is setting up assembly, test, marking, and packaging (ATMP) facility at Sanand, Gujarat, got the first-level training to its engineers from SCL Mohali, according to a post by SCL on X in February 2024.
Similarly, Lam Research, which is a manufacturer and supplier of wafer fabrication equipment, also sent a batch of engineers for training at the SCL Mohali recently, the third official said.
'Tata too approached to get the training done but the same did not happen. This was because they had asked SCL to accommodate a batch of 120 people whereas SCL can accommodate only a limited number," the third official added.
Queries emailed to Tata Electronics and Lam Research did not elicit any response till the press time.
In December 2021, the government announced a ₹76,000-crore India Semiconductor Mission that aims to create a strong semiconductor and display ecosystem in the country. Of the same, the government had earmarked around ₹10,000 crore for modernisation of SCL.
According to estimates by industry body India Electronics and Semiconductor Association (IESA), by 2030, India's semiconductor demand is projected to reach $103 billion, and 10-15% of this will stem from technologies built on 180nm nodes such as MEMS (micro-electromechanical systems), CMOS (complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor) image sensors, power semiconductors, analog, and mixed-signal devices.