India on Friday marked a significant step towards technological self-reliance in advanced electronics.

India on Friday marked a significant step towards technological self-reliance in advanced electronics with the launch of indigenously developed Silicon Photonics solutions at 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. The solutions 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. Calling it a major milestone, Secretary MeitY S Krishnan said India's progress in this space is keeping pace globally. "Silicon Photonics in India is matching with global state of the art. This needs to be complemented with establishment of Silicon Photonics Fab under India Semiconductor Mission," he said. 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 future potential, Amitesh Sinha, Additional Secretary, MeitY and CEO of India Semiconductor Mission, said the technology has wide-ranging applications. "Cutting edge Silicon Photonics technology developed, has applications in both classical and quantum regime," he said, adding that it could be supported under upcoming ISM 2.0 for further development. He also noted that after commercial validation, "a Silicon Photonics Fab with integrated Packaging facilities may be set up." The centre at IIT Madras is expected to expand its capabilities later this year. Chief Investigator Prof. Bijoy Krishna Das said, "Starting in Q3 of this financial year, our center will enable Silicon Photonics MPW fabrication runs while offering comprehensive testing, packaging, and module characterization." 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.

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