India and the United States have reached a significant deal on semiconductor manufacturing. The agreement between the US Space Force, Bharat Semi, and 3rdiTech will ensure that India receives 100% knowledge transfer for compound semiconductor manufacturing. According to sources familiar with the transaction, all enabling agreements for technology transfer have been in place.

 

Speaking exclusively to CNBC-TV18, Vrinda Kapoor, CEO of 3rdiTech, stated that her company hopes to break ground in the first quarter of next year and begin manufacturing in three years.

 

"Within three years, we plan to begin phase one production of 50,000 semiconductors per year. The initial goal is to fill supply shortfalls in semiconductors for the Indian Armed Forces. In Phase 2, we may look into exports," she said. What type of semiconductors will Shakti Fab produce? The manufacturing plant will primarily produce infrared, gallium nitride, and silicon carbide semiconductors. Traditional semiconductors employ a single material, silicon, whereas compound semiconductors use two or more components. Silicon is used in 80% of all semiconductors worldwide.

 

Compound semiconductors account for 20% of all semiconductors produced worldwide. Compound semiconductors can handle more power than silicon semiconductors, are 100 times quicker, and have superior light detection and emission capabilities. As a result, they find application in surveillance cameras, jammers, night vision devices, electric vehicles, solar panels, satellites, sensors, inverters, fighter jets, military communications, and radars. Silicon is used in 80% of all semiconductors worldwide. Compound semiconductors account for 20% of all semiconductors produced worldwide.

 

According to industry analysts, compound semiconductor manufacturing is a complicated technology that would be difficult to replicate in India without technology transfer. According to government sources, the collaboration between the US military, Bharat Semi, and 3rdiTech will make India one of the few nations in the Indo-Pacific, aside from China, capable of producing these sophisticated compound semiconductors.