Samsung and Indian Institute of Science join hands to boost semiconductor research

South Korean tech giant Samsung has partnered with an Indian firm to boost semiconductor research and development in India. Samsung Semiconductor India Research (SSIR) and Indian Institute of Science (IISc) will collaborate to develop on-chip electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection.

According to a press release, “The partnership seeks to develop state-of-the-art ESD device solutions to protect ultra-high-speed serial interfaces in advanced integrated circuits (ICs) and system-on-chip (SoC) products.”

Why is this research important?
The research will be carried out by Professor Mayank Srivastava’s team at the Department of Electronic Systems Engineering (DESE) at IISc, and the solutions emerging from this research will be used in Samsung’s advanced process nodes.

What are ICs and SoCs for? Considered intrinsic to any system, ICs and SoCs are prone to electrostatic discharge, especially those developed using nanoscale CMOS (complementary metal oxide semiconductor) technologies.

This is why research and development in electrostatic discharge technology is so important. “R&D in ESD technology for low-power and high-speed, highly reliable interfaces and SoCs is an integral part of semiconductor innovation efforts. IISc is one of the few institutions in the world leading ESD device research,” the release said.

“We have been collaborating extensively with the semiconductor industry around the world on advanced nanoelectronics technologies, including solutions to ESD reliability threats for advanced SoCs.

We have conducted fundamental and applied research in ESD protection devices with a strong emphasis on developing practical solutions for semiconductors across a range of technology fronts,” he said. Lead Professor Mayank Srivastava said.