A Simple Chip Boosts India-US Ties; Likely To Put Kolkata On The Global Map

It also turned the world’s attention on Kolkata Power Centre, a little-known tech facility that is of working on advanced technology to meet growing demand for power efficient semiconductors through its IP in Gallium Nitride (GaN-si ) semiconductor technology.

Few outside the high-tech world of semiconductors would need to delve into the world of chips that power nearly all the devices we use in our everyday lives. However, inside that world where silicon has ruled all this while, changes are underway as new and alternative materials are being sought to make our devices more powerful. Gallium nitride (GaN) is one such emerging material and at the Kolkata Power Centre engineers are working on designing these chips. Experts believe over the next 5-10 years, devices powered by these chips will be ubiquitous in our lives.   

The GaN chips came into limelight as India and the US reached a landmark arrangement to establish a new advanced semiconductor fabrication plant. The plant will be focused on advanced sensing, communication, and power electronics for national security, next generation telecommunications, and green energy applications. The plant, which will be established with the objective of manufacturing infrared, gallium nitride and silicon carbide semiconductors, will be enabled by support from the India Semiconductor Mission as well as a strategic technology partnership between Bharat Semi, 3rdiTech and the US Space Force, the White House  statement said.

In particular, the two leaders hailed joint efforts ‘to facilitate resilient, secure, and sustainable semiconductor supply chains including through GlobalFoundries’ (GF) creation of the GF Kolkata Power Center in Kolkata, West Bengal.

Kolkata Power Centre

Incorporated in the Cayman Islands, Global Foundries, the world’s third largest chip maker, is a multinational semiconductor contract manufacturing and design company headquartered in Malta, New York. It has had a sizeable presence in India since 2015 with a GCC in Bangalore employing close to 1,000 employees. “We continue to have a strong focus on India with our growing team in Bangalore supporting R&D, virtual fab operations, 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 where we intend to build on our leadership,” a GF spokesperson told The Secretariat.  

The Kolkata Power Centre came into being when Global Foundries acquired Tagore Technologies‘ Power Gallium Nitride (GaN) portfolio and its extensive IP portfolio in July 2024. The company is a pioneer of high-power GaN-based radio frequency (RF) switches and Front End solution. As a part of the acquisition, a team of experienced engineers from Tagore, dedicated to the development of GaN technology, joined GF.

Post-acquisition GF designated this facility and the team as Kolkata Power Center. “This brought together teams and lab facilities from design all the way to application, under one roof. It is the center’s capabilities and successful record of end-to-end solutions, from product definition to end-customer support, that is helping GF accelerate the availability of GaN chips,” the official added.

Strategic Significance Of GF’s Kolkata Power Centre

In February 2024, GF was awarded $1.5 billion in direct funding under the U.S. CHIPS and Science Act. Part of this investment is targeted towards helping 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.

GF said the Tagore Technologies’ acquisition reinforced its commitment to large-scale manufacturing of GaN technology that help data centers meet the increasing power demands while improving power efficiency, reducing costs and managing heat generation. It also expanded GF’s power IP portfolio and broadened access to market leading GaN IP.

The impact of this development is expected to be significant both in qualitative and quantitative terms, according to experts in the field. “This is a significant step and it is likely to entail creation of big numbers of highly skilled jobs in chip design in India,” says Saibal Dutta, former Director R&D, Home Entertainment Division, STMicroelctronics India. A veteran in the semiconductor space he had been at the helm of one of Europe’s largest semiconductor firms for over two decades.

Exploring Longer Term Cross Border Manufacturing  

The development throws light on the hi-octane world of semiconductors where countries are increasingly working together to strengthen their semiconductor supply chains, such as the US and India, and India and Singapore. The global semiconductor supply chain is complex and involves many cross-border steps. While GF is not setting up any new fab or factory in India, a spokesperson 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 burgeoning semiconductor demand.

“With the recent White House press release, U.S. and Indian government leaders are recognizing GF’s creation of the Kolkata Power Center, and our leadership in Gallium Nitride (GaN) semiconductor technology and manufacturing,” the GF official added.

Market Outlook And Applications Of GaN

The power gallium nitride device market is estimated to grow to $2 billion in 2027 from $126 million in 2021, a CAGR of 59 per cent according to market research firm Yole Development. A significant portion of this growth will be fueled by the consumer market including fast chargers, Class-D audio, power banks, and time-of-flight sensors in smart phones and tablets. Some of the key drivers of the market are expected to be:

Data Center Servers/ Autonomous Vehicle/Augmented Reality -The growth of the cloud computing is leading to a corresponding growth in data centres, which are major consumers of energy. The convergence to a 48 V power system in both high-power density computing and automotive converters is driving growth in both the telecom/datacom and automotive/mobility segments. 48 V systems reduce power consumption in data centers and the demands of these systems favour GaN over silicon.

Medical Technology

GaN has a major role in medical applications. Wireless power sources using GaN transistors can be used to charge implantable medical devices such as heart pumps, thus eliminating the need for wires. Another example is the use of GaN components in an extremely small x-ray machine that fits in the size of a pill. MRI machines are also taking advantage of GaN’s superior performance to obtain 10 to 100 times higher resolution so major maladies can be discovered earlier, more accurately, and less expensively.

Renewable Energy

As the adoption of renewable energy accelerates, manufacturers of energy storage systems are increasingly designing with GaN for higher efficiency, higher power density, and increased reliability.