India looks to GaN to realize chipmaking ambitions

After several unsuccessful attempts to set up a chip plant in the country, the Indian government has decided to focus on compound semiconductors, like gallium nitride (GaN) and silicon carbide (SiC). These are made from more than one chemical, unlike conventional silicon-based chips.

"We will now be focusing a lot on niche areas in semiconductors, like chips based on gallium nitride or silicon carbide, where we can emerge as global leaders. These units are faster off the ground and have a huge demand in an array of industries in India and globally," said Ashwini Vaishnaw, minister for communications, electronics and information technology, while speaking at a recent ground-breaking ceremony of a new Micron plant in Gujarat, according to media reports. 

This comes after the government's $10 billion incentive to attract chipmakers to set up a plant in India didn't yield any results. The government had to invite fresh applications for the scheme earlier this year as none of the original applicants were able to secure a technology partner. Another setback was the dismantling of the Foxconn-Vedanta joint venture. 

However, Foxconn and Vedanta later announced that they would be participating in the scheme separately. Micron also recently announced a $2.75 billion investment to set up an assembly, testing, marking and packaging (ATMP) unit in India. 

Related:India's faltering chip story

GaN gains

Globally, there is a growing focus on compound semiconductors and the market is likely to touch $119.13 billion by 2032, up from $43.23 billion in 2022, according to Precedence Research. Deloitte says that GaN and SiC based chips will contribute around $3.3 billion to the total $660 billion global semiconductor market in 2023. Though they still constitute a very small percentage of the global chip market, the contribution of GaN and SiC-based chips is likely to grow by almost 40% in 2023 when compared with 2022, according to Deloitte. 

There are several factors contributing to the growth of compound semiconductors. For one thing, they demand less investment when compared with silicon chips and are quicker to put into production.  

Compound semiconductors like GaN have been in use for several years now and are especially relevant for 5G because they are better equipped to handle high-frequency signals. They are also being used in high-power amplifiers for 5G networks. Another advantage of GaN semiconductors is that they can operate at higher voltages and temperatures compared to traditional silicon-based chips.    

Even as the relevance of GaN continues to grow, geopolitical factors can complicate matters. China, which is one of the largest producers of gallium, imposed restrictions on its exports earlier this year, along with those of germanium. This can potentially slow down the growth of GaN, especially for countries like India, which are not on friendly terms with China.  

Related:What's gone wrong with India's fab unit plans?

A GaN beginning 

India has already started to support GaN chip development. The government has invested 30 billion Indian rupees (US$360.7 million) in Bengaluru-based Agnit Semiconductors, which is close to developing a GaN chip. 

The company was in the news recently for developing a GaN power switch that can be used to convert power for electric vehicles and laptops. The company is incubated at one of the country's premier institutes, the Indian Institute of Science (IISc). It is possibly the only company in India working on GaN semiconductors and is two to three years away from field deployment.

A new technology, like GaN-based chips, can help India to enter a mature semiconductor market. It remains to be seen whether this change in strategy will be a game-changer for the country's chip ambitions.