ATMP integral part of semiconductor manufacturing value chain: Jaswinder Ahuja

ATMP or assembly, testing, marking, and packaging, has been gaining prominence in India. This follows the announcement by the India Semiconductor Mission (ISM) of the setting up of compound semiconductors / silicon photonics / sensors (including MEMS) fabs / discrete semiconductors fab and semiconductor ATMP / OSAT facilities in India. The ISM shall extend fiscal support of 50% of capital expenditure to such units.

According to Jaswinder Ahuja, Corporate VP International HQ, and India MD, Cadence Design Systems, who is currently based in Cork, Ireland, ATMP is an integral part of the semiconductor manufacturing value chain. In most cases, the ATMP is co-located with the fabs in the same region. 

The ATMP/OSAT have been gaining importance as packaging becomes more complex, and is becoming critical as we transition to 3D-IC. India has recognized this as a critical element of the supply chain, and a good starting point to build our ecosystem.

Ahuja further added: "28nm is a proven node, and capable to handle most applications, except for the most demanding compute-intensive and high-performance applications. It is the optimal node for India to start our semiconductor fab journey, as it has highest chances of business success. The most advanced nodes require far greater investment, and would take longer to reach desired levels of yield."

The industry had strongly advocated that the government focus on 28nm, as that is the sweet spot with the highest chances of success at a more reasonable investment and maximum RoI.

He concluded: "It is imperative that the first few investments are business successes to build momentum for future investments. This requires credible players with credible and viable business plans."