India Deploys Indigenous Silicon Photonics Technology at IIT Madras in Semiconductor Self-Reliance Initiative

India Takes a Significant Step Towards Technological Self-Reliance in Advanced Electronics

India marked a significant milestone in its pursuit of technological self-reliance in advanced electronics on Friday with the launch of indigenously developed Silicon Photonics solutions at the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT-Madras) in Chennai.

The Indigenously developed silicon photonics technology solutions, including a Process Design Kit (PDK) and a programmable photonic chip test engine, were unveiled by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) at the Indian Institute of Technology Madras, where they have been developed under a government-supported centre. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has been actively supporting the development of this technology.

Calling it a major milestone, Secretary MeitY S Krishnan said India's progress in this space is keeping pace globally. India's progress in Silicon Photonics is matching with the global state of the art, and this needs to be complemented with the establishment of a Silicon Photonics Fab under the India Semiconductor Mission.

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The newly launched Silicon Photonics Process Design Kit comes with over 50 verified components and is aimed at enabling industries, startups, academic institutions, and defence organisations to design advanced photonic chips within the country.

Alongside, the Universal Programmable Photonic Integrated Circuit (PPIC) Test Engine will provide an automated platform for testing and characterisation of photonic and optoelectronic modules across applications.

Highlighting the future potential of Silicon Photonics, Amitesh Sinha, Additional Secretary, MeitY and CEO of India Semiconductor Mission, said the technology has wide-ranging applications in both classical and quantum regimes. After commercial validation, a Silicon Photonics Fab with integrated Packaging facilities may be set up.

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The centre at IIT Madras is expected to expand its capabilities later this year. Starting in Q3 of this financial year, the centre will enable Silicon Photonics MPW fabrication runs while offering comprehensive testing, packaging, and module characterisation. Chief Investigator Prof. Bijoy Krishna Das noted that the initiative follows a Product Research, Development and Manufacturing (PRDM) model and is expected to function as a shared national facility for India's photonics research and development ecosystem.