Kol semicon unit to be crucial for new tech: GlobalFoundries

Kolkata: A day after White House announced the US-India collaboration for a futuristic semiconductor centre by tech giant GlobalFoundries (GF) in Kolkata, company officials said the unit would be crucial to its play in emerging technologies.Speaking to TOI, a GF spokesperson said the new GaN (gallium nitride) tech for silicon manufacturing was the area the company intended to build its leadership on.“We continue to have a strong focus on India with a growing team in Bengaluru, where we support R&D, virtual fab operations and customer enablement along with other enabling services. In addition, we now also have our Kolkata Power Center that will be crucial to our play in emerging technologies like GaN,” the spokesperson said.The company said it had acquired Tagore Technology’s Power Gallium Nitride portfolio this July, including its extensive IP portfolio and team of GaN engineers. GaN is a high-power density solution designed to push the boundaries of efficiency and performance in a wide range of power applications in automotive, internet of things (IoT) and AI data centres.GaN has become a game-changer in the world of semiconductors, particularly for high-efficiency power transistors and integrated circuits.“We have designated this facility for the Kolkata Power Center, which brings together teams and lab facilities from design all the way to application, under one roof. The centre’s capabilities and successful record of end-to-end solutions, from product definition to end-customer support, is helping GF accelerate the availability of GaN chips,” the spokesperson said.The company added that as of now, it was not making any new announcement on setting up a fabrication unit in India. With the White House announcement, the US and Indian govts were recognising GF’s creation of the Kolkata Power Center, it said.“As part of our global footprint strategy, we are exploring longer term, cross-border manufacturing and technology partnerships on essential chips to better serve India’s growing semiconductor chip demand, one that’s fuelled by India’s exponential growth trajectory,” the spokesperson said.In Feb 2024, GF was awarded $1.5 billion in direct funding under the US CHIPS and Science Act. A part of that investment is targeted towards enabling the high-volume manufacturing of critical technologies, including GaN, to securely produce more essential chips.Combining this manufacturing capacity with the technical know-how of the Tagore team, GF is set to transform AI system efficiency, especially in edge or IoT devices, where reduced power consumption is critical.Webel had approached GlobalFoundries’ representatives in Kolkata and requested them to explore the setting up of a knowledge partnership for upskilling students and faculty, and a semiconductor design laboratory.