The Hindu Business Line : `India needs flexible chip unit'

INDIA needs a flexible chip manufacturing facility, according to Mr Suhas Patil, semiconductor visionary, who was speaking at a summit organised by India Semiconductor Association (ISA).

A "flexible" fabricating unit is one that can produce a range of chips with different processing technologies and geometries.

"You need a flexible fab, not necessarily 90 nm (latest chip processing method) but one which can make analogue and low power ASICs, which are still relevant for gadgets," said Mr Patil.

Other strategies suggested were virtual IDMs (independent device manufacturers) and the fabless model.

Mr Ulf Schneider, Managing Director of Infineon Technologies India, said: "The fab and the design houses need not be nearby geographically, but each needs to have complete domain knowledge and communicate closely with each other."

Dismissing the fabless model, Mr Rajendra Khare, Chairman of ISA, said that though remote communication has matured, real-time communication mandated a fab in the country.

Mr Aurangzeb Khan, Corporate Vice-President of Cadence Design Systems, spoke on the need for "linkage" between companies. "Just as the consumer market in Japan and China drove the need for a semiconductor industry while the PC market drove it in Korea, possible drivers in India would be the digital set top box, HDTV, smart cards, automotive, electric meters, and white goods (appliances), according to Mr Francois Guibert, Corporate Vice-President (Emerging Markets Region), STMicroelectronics.

Mr Ted Vucuverich, CTO, Advanced Research and Development, Cadence Design Systems, said that India must not overlook biomedical and chemical engineering industries as potential markets for semiconductors.