Podcast Script: A made-in-India transistor that can make India’s IoT technology a reality
Written for Research Matters (SoundCloud Link)
Transcript:
Scrolling through social media, emailing people across the world in minutes and solving computational fluid dynamics have all been made possible due to a device created by scientists in New Jersey, USA. In 1956, these devices called transistors earned them a Nobel prize in physics and also made modern electronics, as we know it today, a reality. Transistors are semiconductor devices that can boost or switch electronic signals. Cheap and easy to manufacture, a million transistors can fit on a pinhead.
Since their inventions, scientists have figured out how to fit more and more transistors on a computer chip. This has made it possible for us to go from computers that occupied an enormous room to smartphones that we carry in your bags and pockets. Now transistors are set to play a major role in revolutionizing Internet of Things (IoT), especially a particular kind of transistors called Bipolar Junction Transistors or BJTs. BJT was the first kind of transistor to be mass produced. It utilizes both electron and hole charge carriers to conduct charge and has long been the transistor of choice for various analogue applications. On the other hand, Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor, C-MOS, are used to handle digital signals. Bi-CMOS (short for Bipolar-CMOS) technology combines the two transistor technologies in one chip.
How does this make a difference in the IoT universe? Almost all IoT solutions collect data from its surroundings. This could be digital data like images or analogue data such as audio signals.
Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology — Bombay, in a collaborative effort with ISRO’s Semi-Conductor Labs (SCL), Chandigarh, have developed a completely indigenous Bipolar Junction Transistor that can work with Bi-CMOS. Bi-CMOS technology with integrated BJT-based amplifiers reduces the size, power consumption, and cost, all of which are major advantages, especially for space applications.
What does this mean for the IoT scene in India though? Generally, international tech giants have been the pioneers in innovations in semiconductor technologies. Access to these technologies for development and commercialization is done through technology transfers. To have unrestricted access to such kind of technology, it is important to develop them locally in India. However, lack of CMOS technology development and manufacturing expertise, and the gap in advanced semiconductor manufacturing hinders this.
The Centres for Excellence in Nanoelectronics (CENs) were seeded at IIT-B and IISc-Bengaluru by the Ministry of Electronics is a step towards overcoming this. The development of the indigenous BJT is one of its milestones. SCL can enable customization for various IoT technologies in medical, agriculture and other nationally relevant environments, aiding smaller design teams that have access only to commercially available technology. The world-class expertise gained in semiconductor manufacturing will spur Indian research houses to reach new levels of technological development and make India self-reliant in satisfying its growing electronics market.
