Despite a weak semiconductor manufacturing base and the absence of any wafer fabrication infrastructure, India has attracted a number of semiconductor companies for locating chip design centers.
Manufacturers who have ventured into the country include Texas Instruments Inc, SGS-Thomson Microelectronics, Arcus Technology Inc, National Semiconductor Corp, Analog Devices Inc and Cypress Semiconductors Inc. Intel Corp, which has a strong marketing base in India, does not conduct design in the country but does recruit Indian chip designers. Bangalore-based Wipro Inc undertakes design work for VLSI Technology Inc of the US, while Motorola Inc has set up a design center for the development of CAD software for VLSI design.
SGS-Thomson Microelectronics (ST), the number one producer of analog ICs, mixed signal ICs, power ICs, dedicated telecom and analog automotive ICs and EPROM memories, set up a design center in India in 1989 and recruited Indian engineers for training at its works in Europe and Singapore. A team for the New Venture Group of the company began work in 1996, and the firm moved to a new design facility which has over 50,000 sq feet and employs around 250 Indian nationals.
General manager for ST, Guido Zargani, says the design center is responsible for the design of application software relating to management information systems, static RAM, low power memories and full-custom ICs. Designs to date include a 24-pin dot matrix controller, a laser beam printer based on a parallel processing transputer, multimedia solutions, pay-TV applications and others.
Arcus Technology has already delivered 30 application-specific ICs to its customers worldwide. According to A P Bhattacharjee, head of Arcus' operations, what separates Arcus from other Indian designers is its attention to designing the entire chip. "We take it from concept to silicon, and have it made outside the country under our own name," he says.
The latest firm to set up a design center in the country is Analog Devices Inc (ADI), who have established the India Product Development Center (IPDC) in Bangalore. This is the company's third major design center outside the US.
The IPDC was set up at a cost of around US$1.5 million and deals with designing general-purpose DSPs and ASICs for industry automation and consumer electronics. It will employ around 20 engineers initially, expanding this to between 50 and 100 by 1999. ADI vice president in charge of technology, Dennis Bus, said the center will be managed entirely by Indian engineers, who would also be responsible for specifics relating to project execution. The center will undertake total development of products, he said.
No Fabs as Yet
According to Biswadip Mitra, manager of the Memory Products Development Center for TI India, the availability of a skilled labor force, CAD-literate designers and a high focus on designer productivity are strengths that multinational companies are keen to take advantage of. Weaknesses in the Indian design industry, however, are in design know-how being limited to a few people, the small size of the semiconductor market in India, and the absence of manufacturing capabilities, he said.
With the global semiconductor market set to reach US$275 billion by 2000, as predicted by market research firm Dataquest Inc, opportunities in chip design are tremendous. However, while India is advantageous as a design center, there are no plans to set up fabs in the next few years. "Having a fab is not as critical as some people think," said Thomas Engibous, president of the semiconductor group for TI, USA.
"Having the design skills is critical, however. The value in the electronic industry has shifted from manufacturing to design, and India has great strengths in integrated circuits design and software," he said.
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