Samsung Semiconductor India Research (SSIR) announced a new partnership with the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) to promote research and development in the field of on-chip Electrostatic Discharge (ESD) protection. The partnership seeks to build cutting-edge ESD device solutions to protect ultra-high-speed serial interfaces in advanced Integrated Circuits (ICs) and system-on-chip (SoC) products, a joint statement said on Wednesday.

The related research will be carried out by Prof Mayank Shrivastava’s group at the Department of Electronic Systems Engineering (DESE), IISc. Solutions arising from this research will be deployed in Samsung’s advanced process nodes.

ICs and SoCs are essential for practically any system, from small to big, that we see around us, but they are very sensitive to ESD failures, especially those developed using advanced nanoscale CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) technologies.

The majority of IC chip failures and field returns are attributed to ESD failures, it was noted. This is also rare expertise and industries holding the art of designing ESD protection devices and interface concepts lead the market.

“Thus, R&D in ESD technology for highly reliable interfaces and SoCs that operate at low power and high speed is an integral part of the semiconductor innovation effort. IISc is one of the few institutes in the world leading ESD device research”, the statement said.

The research agreement was exchanged by CVP & MD at Samsung Semiconductor India Research, Bengaluru, Balajee Sowrirajan, and IISc Director Prof Govindan Rangarajan, in the presence of delegates from Samsung and IISc.

“We are glad to partner with IISc to boost semiconductor innovation and envisage developing ESD knowledge along with expertise available in IISc. Our goal is also to increase capacity building through training programs at the postgraduate level, opening up opportunities for students to pursue industry internships, and encourage entrepreneurial ventures by young researchers,” said Sowrirajan.

Prof Rangarajan said, “The partnership reinforces our commitment to strengthen industry-academia engagements that can make a significant impact in the coming years.” “We have been collaborating extensively with semiconductor industries worldwide on advanced nanoelectronics technologies, including solutions to ESD reliability threats to advanced SoCs. We have carried out both fundamental and applied research on ESD protection devices, with a strong emphasis on creating practical solutions for the semiconductor industry in a range of technology nodes,” said Prof Shrivastava.