Chennai, Apr 24 (TNT): India marked a major step towards technological self-reliance with the launch of indigenously developed Silicon Photonics solutions at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)Madras on Friday.
Krishnan, Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), unveiled two key technologies developed at the MeitY-supported CoE-CPPICS: a Silicon Photonics Process Design Kit (PDK) for chip manufacturing and a Universal Programmable Photonic Integrated Circuit (PPIC) Test Engine.
The launch took place in the presence of Amitesh Sinha, Additional Secretary, MeitY and CEO of the India Semiconductor Mission, Prof Shanti Bhattacharya, HoD DoEE, IIT Madras, Governing Council Members of the centre.
The Silicon Photonics PDK includes over 50 verified components and is expected to enable industries, startups, academic institutions and defence organisations in India to design advanced photonic integrated circuits.
The Universal PPIC Test Engine provides an automated platform for characterisation of photonic and optoelectronic modules across applications.
Krishnan said the development marks a significant milestone in India’s pursuit of Silicon Photonics technology sovereignty and called for complementary efforts such as establishing a dedicated fabrication facility under the India Semiconductor Mission.
Sinha noted that the technology has applications in both classical and quantum domains and could be further supported under the upcoming ISM 2.0 programme for research and product development.
The centre is expected to begin Silicon Photonics multi-project wafer (MPW) fabrication runs from the third quarter of the current financial year, along with testing, packaging and module characterisation capabilities.
The initiative follows a Product Research, Development and Manufacturing model, with global and domestic partners supporting fabrication and packaging, and aims to strengthen India’s position in advanced semiconductor and photonics technologies.
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