ROORKEE: IIT-Roorkee has set up a state-of-the-art nanofabrication facility to support India’s semiconductor manufacturing mission. The first-of-its-kind center in Uttarakhand, built at a cost of Rs 15 crore, aims to bolster the country’s semiconductor industry through lab testing and advanced research.
The institute collaborated with premier institutions in Taiwan—a global leader in semiconductor manufacturing—to exchange expertise. The department of science and technology funded the project, which began in 2019.
Equipped with cutting-edge instruments, the facility features a 50 kV electron beam lithography (EBL) system capable of 10nm resolution and inductively coupled plasma RIE (ICP-RIE), which is an etching technology often used in specialty semiconductor markets for device manufacturing. It also houses ultra-clean rooms with controlled environments, including Class 100 and Class 1000 spaces of 300 and 600sq ft, ensuring precision for nanotechnology research.
Now fully operational, the center is supported by five dedicated faculty members and has already trained 30 in-house research scholars and MTech students. Twelve PhD scholars are actively using the facility for their research, and efforts are ongoing to optimise operational parameters to further enhance the facility’s capabilities. The facility supports research in quantum sensors, spintronics, memory devices, thin-film devices, photodetectors, quantum optics, and photonic crystals.
“The establishment of this facility aligns strategically with India’s national priorities and complements key govt initiatives such as the Semiconductor Mission, Nano Mission, and Quantum Mission,” said Prof K L Yadav, one of the coordinators from the institute who spearheaded the project.