New Delhi: In the silent sectors of Mohali, away from the din of the global semiconductor heavyweights, a government lab has been quietly rewriting India's technological destiny.
The Semiconductor Laboratory (SCL), which saw its existence torn apart by a catastrophic fire in 1989, is now at the center of India's newfound push to attain chip independence. From creating devices to capture images that would help India venture into space to developing the country's first fully indigenous 32-bit microprocessor (VIKRAM-3201), SCL has played the part of both: symbol and engine, of India's semiconductor ambitions.
A Tragic Past, a Slow Return
SCL was established in 1976, and produced its first batch of chips in 1984, chips that were over 5000-nanometre (nm) in size - just a generation behind world standards. In February 1989, an unexplained fire consumed SCL's main production line and wiped out both ₹75 crore worth of infrastructure and India's first opportunity at leadership in semiconductors. Initially, suspicions of sabotage were raised when investigators found that the fire had started at multiple points simultaneously.
After a long, painful, and slow recovery, the lab resumed operations in 1997. By this time the world had advanced significantly, as Taiwan's TSMC was advancing rapidly into the deep submicron era, while India's SCL was struggling to manage the cumbersome nature of bureaucracy with outdated technology. In 2006, the government restructured the entity under the Department of Space, rebranding it as "Semiconductor Lab." In 2023, it was moved to the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY).
Yet, despite setbacks, SCL retained its strategic niche: producing chips for defence, space, and railways, domains too sensitive for import dependence.
The Integrated Device Manufacturer
What sets SCL apart from commercial fabs worldwide is its Integrated Device Manufacturer (IDM) status. As Rajdeep Kaur Gambhir, a scientist at SCL, explained, "We are India's only integrated device manufacturers. Every stage of semiconductor production, from design to process to fabrication ant then to testing to packaging and final product delivery is done under one roof. This includes design, fabrication, testing, packaging, and delivery. Our portfolio spans analog, digital, mixed-signal, and specialized detectors. For instance, our detectors have been critical in ISRO's space missions, helping capture some of the most remarkable images from orbit."
This in-house capability has made SCL indispensable to ISRO and other strategic agencies. When India needed a processor for its launch vehicle avionics, SCL was the natural partner.
Birthplace of VIKRAM-3201 and KALPANA-3201
The collaboration between ISRO's Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) and SCL recently produced India's first fully indigenous 32-bit processors, VIKRAM-3201 and KALPANA-3201.
Fabricated on SCL's 180nm CMOS fab, the VIKRAM-3201 is a radiation-hardened processor designed for space launch vehicles, validated in orbit during the PSLV-C60/POEM-4 mission. It builds on the legacy of the 16-bit VIKRAM-1601, which has powered ISRO's rockets since 2009.
The KALPANA-3201, meanwhile, is built on the IEEE 1754 ISA (the KALPANA-3201 is a SPARC-V8 RISC microprocessor, compatible with open-source software) for widespread adoption, including for export, from SCL's put India back on the world semiconductor map.
For India, these chips mark not just a technological leap but also Atmanirbharata in space electronics, reducing reliance on foreign suppliers for mission-critical components.
Nurturing Future Talent
SCL has also become a training ground for India's next generation of chip designers and semiconductor engineers. Kamna Kohli, scientist at SCL, highlighted its role in skilling, "We provide internships for B.Tech, M.Tech, and PhD students, along with tailored learning programs. Our labs replicate cleanroom environments where students learn to use EDA tools, design chips, and even explore fabrication and ATMP facilities. We are deeply integrated with missions like C2O, having delivered two shuttle projects so far, with a third under fabrication."