India widens semiconductor focus beyond fabs to 2D materials, eyes ‘Leapfrog’ in chip tech: Sources – CNBC TV18
While the bulk of current chip manufacturing relies on traditional silicon wafers, 2D materials — just a few atoms thick — offer the promise of exponentially smaller, faster, and more power-efficient chips. These next-generation materials include graphene, phosphorene, and transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs), and are considered a frontier in global semiconductor research.
“2D materials are being viewed as a major frontier in semiconductors globally, and the government wants India to get in early,” a senior official familiar with the matter said.
Unlike conventional 3nm chips used today by tech giants like Apple, Samsung, MediaTek, and Intel, 2D material-based chips could be orders of magnitude smaller — potentially transforming the trajectory of Moore’s Law.
Currently, no company or country has successfully commercialised chips made from 2D materials. However, research is underway in China, the US, the UK, Germany, and Japan. India now wants to position itself among the early movers.
According to sources, the government is likely to issue a call for expressions of interest (EoIs) from industry and academia to set up R&D and pilot fabrication facilities focused on 2D materials.
“The government will assess readiness levels from both academic institutions and industry players. Based on the proposals and ecosystem maturity, funding options are also on the table,” another official said.
The move aligns with India’s broader goal of becoming a hub for semiconductor manufacturing and innovation, while also acknowledging that a long-term edge may lie beyond current fab capabilities.
Sources also confirmed that a team of scientists from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) submitted detailed proposals in both 2022 and 2024 to develop chip architectures using 2D materials. While those efforts are still under evaluation, they reflect a growing domestic interest in next-gen chip science.
2D materials offer several advantages: their ultra-thin profile reduces energy consumption, allows for denser transistor packing, and potentially enables new device architectures that go beyond what silicon-based chips can achieve.
However, they come with challenges — from material stability to scalable fabrication. Governments worldwide are ramping up R&D investments, and India’s move to enter this race signals a willingness to shape the next wave of computing technology rather than just catching up on the last one.
