BENGALURU: IISc will collaborate with Samsung Semiconductor India Research to boost research and development in the semiconductor industry in India. In particular, IISc and SSIR will work together on promoting research and development in protecting semiconductor chips against Electrostatic Discharge (ESD). ESD is the transfer of electrostatic charge between two bodies. It has become a growing issue in the semiconductor industry as a major cause of destruction for the chips.
According to IISc, the partnership will help develop solutions, especially to protect ‘ultra-high-speed serial interfaces’ in advanced Integrated Circuits (ICs) and system-on-chip (SoC) products. “ICs and SoCs are essential for practically any system, from small to big, that we see around us, but they are very sensitive to ESD failures, especially those developed using advanced nanoscale CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) technologies. The majority of IC chip failures and field returns are attributed to ESD failures,” IISc said.
“We have been collaborating extensively with semiconductor industries worldwide on advanced nanoelectronics technologies, including solutions to ESD reliability threats to advanced SoCs. We have carried out both fundamental and applied research on ESD protection devices, with a strong emphasis on creating practical solutions for the semiconductor industry in a range of technology nodes,” said Prof Mayank Shrivastava, professor at the IISc Department of Electronic Systems Engineering.