India's CDIL Semiconductors Unveils Country's First Silicon Carbide Device Production To Meet EV And Solar Demand

Continental Device India Pvt. Ltd (CDIL), an indigenous semiconductor assembly and packaging firm based in India, has recently commenced the manufacturing of Silicon Carbide (SiC) devices through surface mount technology at its Mohali production plant.

With this, CDIL now operates 10 assembly lines, increasing the facility's annual production capacity to 600 million units.

Since its establishment in 1964, CDIL has become the first manufacturer of Silicon Carbide components in India.

The company aims to meet the growing demands of the electric vehicle (EV), power management (such as UPS), and solar energy industries by providing high-power and more efficient components.

Previously, CDIL exported 70 per cent of its production from India to various countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, South Africa, and Egypt, reports Mint.

However, with the increase in local electronics manufacturing since 2016, CDIL now caters to about 65 per cent of the domestic market with its products.

The manufacturer intends to make SiC materials for India and the global markets.

Currently, it has a presence in over 35 countries. It will be making Silicon Carbide MOSFETs, Silicon Carbide schottky diodes, rectifiers, zeners and TVS diodes among others.

“CDIL gives credit to schemes like Scheme for Promotion of Manufacturing of Electronic Components and Semiconductors and production-linked incentive for the growth of semiconductor industry in the country,” said Prithvideep Singh, General Manager, CDIL.

Singh added, “SiC material can operate at high temperature and handle high breakdown voltages. Therefore, it emerges as the optimal choice for EV, power management and solar sectors.”

The company has entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Semi-Conductor Laboratory (SCL) — a research institute in Mohali under Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY).

The collaboration aims to conduct research and development in the field of semiconductor technology.

The goal is to leverage SCL's expertise and wafer fabrication facilities to produce indigenous wafers for discrete semiconductor devices using proprietary manufacturing processes.

Amitesh Kumar Sinha, joint secretary at MeitY, stated, “I hope CDIL will also consider setting up a discrete fab in the country by availing financial support under the Semicon India programme in future. As CDIL and SCL join hands for knowledge exchange, India can look forward to more indigenous chip manufacturing and packaging for India and the world in the upcoming future,"

The Indian government aims to turn SCL into a research and development centre that promotes the growth of the semiconductor industry in the country.

The government has allocated a budget of over $2 billion to modernise SCL and make it financially sustainable.