In an interview with Paayel, Sub Editor, TimesTech Buz, Krishnan Shrinivasan, Vice President, Deputy General Manager (Managing Director) Lam Research India talked about future plans, investment and gave an informative insight about semiconductor industry
Times Tech: Kindly shed some light on Lam’s focus on innovation in chip design, investment, and future plans?
Krishnan Shrinivasan: Lam Research makes semiconductor manufacturing equipment for many of the leading semiconductor manufacturers and leads the industry in two major areas, namely etching and deposition. We work closely with our customers to provide the products and technology they need to be successful. By providing critical chip processing capabilities, our products create a vital link between the visionary designs of the latest electronic devices and the companies that make them. Semiconductors have moved into the spotlight because of the pervasive use of advanced technology and the realization of how critical they are to the future of the global economy. There are a variety of technological inflections in the semiconductor industry that Lam is currently focussing on and one of the most well know is the 3D NAND.
In recent years, 3D NAND technology has seen widespread acceptance where instead of depositing transistors on a planar layer, our customers are now depositing them in a vertical stack. This increases the storage density of these memory chips that are widely used in our mobile devices, pen drives, laptops, etc. Disruptions in the semiconductor supply chain and their consequent effect on manufacturing have been in the headlines recently, and it has become amply clear that semiconductors have now become the critical ingredient for just about every innovation. Adoption of semiconductors has been driven by the relentless increase in their capability and capacity, coupled to dramatic reductions in cost.
These advances are driven by new semiconductor materials, technologies and designs, which require advanced manufacturing capability. At Lam, we are constantly inventing new chemical processing technologies that adapt to these new materials, be it a new conducting layer or an insulating material. Hence, it would be fair to say that almost every advanced chip is built with Lam technology. When it comes to investments and future plans, Lam India will continue to grow, both in terms of the skill of our people and our efforts to solve complex problems for our customers. We are in the process of making significant lab and office infrastructure investments to make our engineering operations stronger and looking at adding to our existing manpower, thus focusing on building a stronger capacity over the next few years.
Times Tech: What will be Lam Research’s presence in India for the upcoming 20 years? and what milestones do you aim for?
Krishan Shrinivasan: Lam Research set up its first office in India in 2001, and this year it celebrates its 20 years of operation in the country. Since its inception, Lam has continued to steadily make investments in India. India has witnessed a huge growth in advanced electronics in both industrial and consumer markets, especially in the past 10 years., The Indian population’s extensive consumption of mobiles phones, audio-visual entertainment, automobiles, etc. contributes to a significant fraction of the world’s semiconductor capacity. The Indian government has launched several initiatives to develop the electronics sector of the country, such as the recently announced Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme, mainly focusing on mobile phones. Semiconductor manufacturing stands at the top of the electronics value chain being the most complex and technologically sophisticated part of the electronics industry. Hence, we look forward to the Indian industry moving up the value chain from assembling phones to manufacturing passive and active components, so that at some point in the future, we will have a semiconductor manufacturing industry. We believe that at this point since Lam India already has a significant technical and operational base in India, we will play an important role in the years ahead.
Times Tech: As Covid has hit the semiconductor and electronic device industry, what are the happenings you see in the upcoming years?
Krishan Shrinivasan: The pandemic has significantly transformed the fundamentals of the semiconductor industry, including customer behavior and various aspects of business operations. The world is a very different place after the COVID19 crisis, and we still don’t know the extent or permanence of these changes. Despite so much uncertainty, we believe that the semiconductor industry will benefit in the coming years from strategies that emphasize flexibility and adaptability.
Times Tech: How Lam research can maintain its productivity even in 50% of the global workforce at the organization?
Krishnan Shrinivasan: At Lam, we understand the importance of promoting a workplace that gives our employees a sense of belonging. Now more than ever, Lam’s unique strengths in innovation, integrity, teamwork, transparency, and achievement play an important role during these unprecedented times. These qualities have helped us come together and work as a cohesive unit. Since the onset of the pandemic and the introduction of work from home (WFH), Lam employees have leveraged these core values to effectively collaborate in the new normal. Like many others, our workforce has had to overcome challenges that came while working from home while looking after their families, juggling work with other chores, etc. Fortunately, the data network infrastructure provided by Indian telecommunication companies has exceeded our expectations in terms of stability and efficiency to enable a smooth WFH experience.
Most of our employees working from their homes have been able to contribute very effectively. Furthermore, working from home has created a great demand for more robust communications and data networks. In order to enable dispersed work models, increased investments have been made to make our networks more reliable and stronger. These investments have included significant semiconductor content that is resulting in significant growth for our customers and peers. At Lam Research, we are committed to making sure that we support the changing needs of our customers around the world, all the while also keeping people safe and ensuring they can contribute effectively from their homes.
Times Tech: Shed some light on the growth of the Semi-conductor industry in India & Its impact in the upcoming years?
Krishnan Shrinivasan: India plays a very important role in enabling the technological ecosystem. The prioritization of technological education and the rise in spending on electronics products offers a large opportunity for global semiconductor companies to establish themselves in the country, both for their own operations and as an end market.
Not many know that India had one of the first semiconductors fabs in Asia. The Chandigarh fab operated by the Government of India is proof of the capabilities that exist in India. Private investments in building a semiconductor industry in India will only be realized once the economic benefits of doing so are clear. The good news, however, is that many multinational companies have started to come to India to assemble their electronic products here, while also maintaining a large R&D presence in the form of design and innovation centers. As India continues to develop its economy, electronics and semiconductors will inevitably play a decisive role. I hope that we can act quickly to take full advantage of the opportunities that are already available here.
The biggest proof of this being that every semiconductor manufacturing company in the world has a design and innovation center in India. There is also a strong ecosystem of start-ups developing chips in India that have the potential to solve global problems. To top it off, we have a very large consumer base in the country: if we take smartphones as an example, hundreds of millions of Indian consumers are waiting to switch to their first smartphone. Ultimately, these trends, including the availability of human talent, consumer behavior, and the level of excellent technical education in India, are the necessary requisites for semiconductor growth in India.
