When we say India is building a semiconductor future, we usually mean silicon chips that process data using electrons. On Friday, at IIT Madras, the Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) formally launched two indigenously developed Silicon Photonics technology solutions, tools that are designed to help India design and eventually manufacture photonic chips.
One is a Silicon Photonics Process Design Kit (PDK), a verified library of over 50 building-block components that engineers, startups, academic researchers and defence labs can use to design advanced Photonic Integrated Circuits (PICs).
The second one is a Universal PPIC (Programmable Photonic Integrated Circuit) Test Engine. It is a state-of-the-art automated platform that can characterise and test photonic and optoelectronic modules across a wide range of applications. Both were developed at IIT Madras's Centre of Excellence for Programmable Photonic Integrated Circuits and Systems (CoE-CPPICS), funded by MeitY.
Silicon Photonics underpins the infrastructure of AI data centres, high-speed internet networks, quantum communication, and next-generation defence systems. Countries that can design and fabricate these chips domestically control a critical piece of the next technology cycle. Until now, Indian researchers had to rely entirely on foreign PDK libraries and overseas test facilities.
The CoE-CPPICS follows a Product Research, Development and Manufacturing (PRDM) model. It is designed to push technology toward real manufacturing. Its foundry partner is SilTerra Malaysia, whose 200 mm CMOS-compatible silicon photonics fab will be used for fabrication runs, while izmo Microsystems, Bengaluru, handles photonic IC packaging. Starting Q3 of FY2026-27, the centre will enable Multi-Project Wafer (MPW) fabrication runs, a cost-sharing model where multiple design teams share a single wafer to dramatically cut prototype costs.
MeitY Secretary S. Krishnan, who launched the tools, noted that India's Silicon Photonics capabilities are now matching global standards, and called for a dedicated Silicon Photonics Fab to be established under the India Semiconductor Mission. India Semiconductor Mission CEO Amitesh Sinha added that this technology has applications in both classical computing and the emerging quantum regime, and that the upcoming ISM 2.0's R&D vertical could provide a pathway to commercialisation and eventual domestic fab set-up.