India- Samsung Semiconductor India Research (SSIR) announced a new partnership with the Indian Institute of Science (IISc). They will promote research and development in the field of on-chip Electrostatic Discharge (ESD) Protection. The research agreement was exchanged by Balajee Sowrirajan, CVP & MD at Samsung Semiconductor India Research, Bengaluru, and Prof Govindan Rangarajan, Director, Indian Institute of Science (IISc), in the presence of delegates from Samsung and IISc.
The partnership seeks to build cutting-edge ESD device solutions. Moreover, this is to protect ultra-high-speed serial interfaces in advanced Integrated Circuits (ICs) and system-on-chip (SoC) products. The related research will be carried out by Prof Mayank Shrivastava’s group at the DESE, IISc. Further, solutions arising from this research will be deployed in Samsung’s advanced process nodes.
ICs and SoCs are essential for practically any system, from small to big, that we see around us. They are very sensitive to ESD failures, especially those developed using advanced nanoscale CMOS technologies. The majority of IC chip failures and field returns are attributed to ESD failures. Further, industries holding the art of designing ESD protection devices and interface concepts lead the market. R&D in ESD technology for highly reliable interfaces and SoCs that operate at low power and high speed is an integral part of effort. Meanwhile, IISc is one of the few institutes in the world leading ESD device research.
“We are glad to partner with IISc to boost semiconductor innovation and envisage developing ESD knowledge. Our goal is also to increase capacity building through training programs at the postgraduate level, opening up opportunities for students to pursue industry internships, and encourage entrepreneurial ventures by young researchers,” said Balajee Sowrirajan, CVP & MD, SSIR.
